I Choose You
by lindsay1234567
Summary: What would happen if Rose didn't push Mason away that one night in the lodge? Would he still go off to Spokane? What would happen between Rose and Dimitri? Read and Review please!
1. Ready to Move On

**Alright so I can't seem to find this idea out there, so I decided to write my own story with it. I hope you like it! Review and let me know!!**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Vampire Academy or any of its characters or the words below in italics.**

**

* * *

Rose's POV**

_I arched upward, letting his lips press harder against my skin while his hands slipped under the bottom of my shirt. They trailed upward along my stomach, just barely tracing the edge of my bra._

He brought his lips back up to my own and lightly bit my bottom lip until I parted my lips. He slipped his tongue into my mouth and massaged my tongue with his own.

My lips were tingling as well as where his lips just left my neck. His kisses were more powerful than Dimitri's and made me want even more. I reached for his shirt and he helped me pull it over his head.

I ran my hands over his large muscles. They weren't nearly as large as Dimitri's, but they were pretty big. I flipped us over so I was on top and brought my lips down to kiss his neck. He did the same as me, arching upwards so I could press my lips harder on the side of his neck.

I could tell that he craved my touch and my kiss. And I realized I was craving him too. He flipped us over again so he was back on top, and with a cocky grin, he slide his hands under my shirt again, while kissing me. I opened my eyes and saw a look of lust and love on his face as he slipped his hand under my bra.

"Mase," I breathed.

"Mm?" he asked pulling his hand out from under my shirt.

"Nothing," I said, relieved that he took the hint.

"Rose, I was wondering-" Dimitri froze as he took in Mason and I. Mason was on top of me shirtless on my bed, while my hands were right under the waistband of his jeans.

We quickly pulled apart, and leapt up, separating and blushing deeply. Or at least I was, I didn't risk a glance at Mason.

"What is going on here?" Dimitri asked coldly, as his face twisted in a mask of anger and pain.

I looked at my feet, not wanting to answer him.

"Ms. Hathaway, didn't I just address this rule with you no more than an hour ago?" Dimitri turned towards me, jealously flickering in his eyes for a second before he masked his emotions, "And Mr. Ashford, I'm sure you know the mixed gender rule?"

"Yes, sir," Mason answered, having the guts to look Dimitri in the eye.

"Well then I suggest you get out of here," Dimitri stared coldly at Mason until he nodded.

"Yes, sir," he repeated then turned to me, "Goodnight, Rose, see you tomorrow," he said before scurrying off.

Dimitri turned his attention on me and his gaze softened, "Roza," he whispered, using my Russian nickname, "Why?" he asked, his face pained.

"You're the one who said I should be dating boys my own age. Well here you go, I like Mason," I said, giving him a firm look. He nodded his head once, pleading me with his eyes to say something opposing that, but I stood my ground. I was ready to move on.

"Now if you don't mind, I need to go visit someone," I said as I waited for him to leave. After he left, I grabbed my jacket and headed out of my room. At first I was going to find Lissa but then I remembered that she was at that royal dinner thing with Christian, so I just wandered around.

I stepped out into the cold air and closed my eyes for a second, just relaxing against the wall and enjoying the biting cold on my cheeks.

"Little dhampir?" I heard a familiar voice say from next to me.

I opened my eyes unwillingly and saw Adrian grinning at me, his emerald eyes twinkling, "Hey."

"So I hear Belikov caught you, huh?" he asked with a knowing grin. I gaped at him in shock.

"How did you know about that?" I asked, hoping that Mason hadn't gone and bragged to everyone.

"I have my sources," he answered, wiggling his eyebrows, "You look cold," he said as he studied me, his brow furrowed in concern.

"I'm okay," I said just a shiver came on and shook my whole body.

He chuckled, stepping closer to me, "No you're not," he said as he put his arm over my shoulders, pulling me close to him. I stood there for a second before I realized how wrong this was. I shook his arm off my shoulders and he looked at me with one eyebrow raised.

"I have a boyfriend," I said scoldingly.

He chuckled again, "Oh yeah, that red-headed dhampir right? The little Ashford kid?" he grinned as if it was some sort of joke.

"Yes, him. And he is not in any way _little_," I said, giving him a suggestive smirk.

"Mm, right now I'm extremely jealous of that boy. He got to see this unclothed," he said as he gestured to my body.

"We didn't have sex! We just kissed and stuff," I objected, folding my arms and stepping away from him.

"Uh huh, I've heard all about you little dhampir. I know how you play," he smirked.

"Well you're wrong. I don't know who your sources are, but I would have you know that I'm still a virgin," I sneered, leaning up against the wall.

He looked surprised and probably thought I was lying, but he shrugged it off even if he _did_ think I was lying.

"Well, I don't want to be yelled at by Belikov so I'm going inside to get some beauty sleep," he paused, waiting for a response, and continued when I gave him none, "Goodnight, little dhampir, I'll see you in the morning," he said as he kissed my hand and disappeared into the lodge.

I looked up at the sky and saw how late it was getting. The sun was already mostly up and I wondered how long I'd been talking to Adrian.

Just as I was about to head inside, I felt a pair of hands over my eyes. I smiled, knowing who it was and turned around to kiss my boyfriend.

"Mason!" I said happily, excited to see him.

"Hey, Rose. What are you doing out here all by yourself?" he asked, a playful grin turning up his lips.

"Just enjoying the cold," I shrugged as I stepped closer to him. I saw him lose his train of thought as he looked at my body, even under many layers of heavy clothing. I grinned and lightly slid my finger down his chest, stopping at the start of his pants, teasing him. I felt him tighten up against me and slid my finger down the front of his pants slightly, causing him to yelp.

"Hey, what're you doing?" he asked as lust overcame his features and he grinned at me flirtatiously.

"This," I said, wrapping my arms around his neck and pulling him close to me for a kiss. He kissed back hungrily, erupting similar feelings in me as before. I pulled away before things got too heated and took his hand in mine.

"Let's go back inside," Mason said, gesturing to the door with his head.

"I think I need to go to sleep to rest up so I can cream you on the slopes tomorrow," I said with a cocky grin.

"Even as a cripple I can ski better than you!" he teased, pulling me into the lodge.

"In your dreams, Ashford!" I said light-heartedly.

"Actually, Hathaway, _you're_ in my dreams," he grinned, changing the mood and I could tell that it was the truth.

"Well good, 'cause now I need to get to bed," I said as I leaned forward to peck him on the lips. He placed his hand lightly on the back of my head and held me there for longer, giving me a long kiss.

"Goodnight," he said, with a satisfied smile on his face, as he started to turn away.

"Night!" I said after him as I walked into my room with a smile on my face.

"Well, someone looks happy," Christian smirked, pulling me out of my happy trance.

"Oh, hush!" Lissa said, as she smacked his arm playfully, "What happened?" she asked. I could tell through the bond that she was really curious.

"I'll tell you later," I glanced at Christian as he shrugged.

"You can tell me with him here," Lissa said as she gestured for me to sit down.

I rolled my eyes and sat on my bed, "Okay, fine. Mason and I made out on my bed today. Like _really_ made out. We would have gone farther, but Dimitri barged in and threw Mason out."

Lissa's eyes bulged, "What did he do to you guys? Did he punish you?"

I shook my head, "He just reminded us about the mixed gender rules and lectured us," I left out the part where he asked me why I did it.

Lissa looked disappointed and Christian looked bored, "Hey, Liss, I should probably get going before I get in trouble for being here," he said as he kissed her goodnight and waved to me before leaving.

"Well, I'm tired. I'm going to sleep," I said as I changed into my pajamas, "Night, Liss."

"Night," she replied before I drifted off into unconsciousness

**

* * *

Like it? Yes? No? Just let me know! I love love love reviews, they make my week and will encourage me to write more. Just so you know, I have another story currently in the making so I'll have to keep switching between the two, so the more reviews the more I'll write this!!**


	2. A Fight that Could Be More

**Wow! Thank you so much to everyone that reviewed!! It filled me with confidence! This chapter is going to start off like the book, and follow the events of the next chapter. But I'm going to write my own dialog and change their dresses.**

* * *

**Rose's POV**

I was jolted awake by the slam of a door. I jumped up, looking at Lissa and feeling that she was troubled.

"What's wrong?" I asked as she angrily paced back and forth.

"Christian," she said simply. I was taken aback, they almost never fought. At least, not a real fight.

"What happened?" I pressed, feeling through the bond that she was angry and sad.

"He found out that I was with Adrian yesterday," she said, shaking her head.

"That could be bad," I said, standing up to brush my teeth.

"It's not even like anything happened! We were just talking! I can't believe Christian doesn't believe me," she groaned as she stood still.

"He's just jealous. He knows that you would never cheat on him, but he's paranoid."

"Ugh, well he needs to get over himself, it's not like anything happened," she repeated, "You were there, you would know! Hey, why were you there?" she asked, looking to me for a logical explanation.

"Adrian gave me a giant box of perfume and I went there to return it," I said, hiding the one bottle I kept for myself.

"Wow, he must really like you. What did Mason say?"

"He got over it pretty quick," I said, hiding my grin.

"How?"

"I don't know, Liss, sometime when we were making out, he kind of forgot about the whole thing," I couldn't help but grin at my power to make him forget.

She snorted, "Lucky you, Christian got over that after a month of dating."

"Well then, Mason will get over it too. But, why _were _you there?" I asked as she looked away, her emotions telling me that she was internally battling.

"Just talking," she seemed on the verge of telling me something huge, but just as I was starting to feel it, she let it go and turned her thoughts in a different direction, "There's something really important that I need to tell you, but now is not the right time."

"You sure?" I asked, trying to go deeper into her head without actually being pulled into it.

"Yeah, I need to figure out what to do about Christian," she sighed, standing up and pacing again.

"You guys will be fine, you always are. You'll probably just kiss and make up, probably more than kiss," I said without thinking. It just slipped out.

She stopped pacing at looked at me, "You know about the church. Of course you do, my emotions were really strong," she shook her head, mentally scolding herself.

"I'm sorry," I said, as I really wasn't planning on letting her know before she told me.

"How much do you know?" She asked, sitting down on her bed and peering at me closely, waiting for me to answer.

I sighed, and told her the truth, "A lot."

"I really need to learn how to keep you out of my mind. Sorry you had to see that," she muttered, looking at me apologetically.

"More like experienced it," I muttered under my breath.

"What'd you say?"

"It seems to be the only way I can talk to you lately," I covered my mouth a little too late.

"Takes two to fix that," she said with a small smile.

"I know."

"Well then how about we spend time together today?" She asked with a shrug.

"Yeah, totally," I responded immediately, thinking that we would just be the two of us together for the remainder of the day.

"Well, then let's get ready for Priscilla's banquet!" She said quickly, scurrying away from me before I could object.

"Wait, what?" I asked, grabbing her arm and spinning her around so she was forced to look at me.

"Please! Christian was supposed to come with me, but he's out doing something stupid," she begged, looking into my eyes.

"Ugh, Liss you know I hate those royal Moroi things," I groaned, looking away before she tried to use compulsion on me.

"I know, but the invitation said 'and guest' and it would be good training for when you have to be my guardian," she paused, "You'll have to go to these sort of things a lot."

"Even more the reason not to go! I should enjoy my freedom while I have it," I said, speaking my mind.

"What do you think I'm going to keep you as my personal slave?" she asked angrily, shaking her head in disbelief.

I winced, knowing that I screwed up again, "No, it's just that I'll always have to be with you even if I don't want to."

"Oh, so now you don't want to be with me? Are you saying you don't want to be my guardian?" she asked as her temper flared and I felt a pit of darkness emerging from the bond.

"Have you been taking your meds?" I asked, concerned what would happen if she was off of them.

"Of course I have! Now answer my question!" she ordered, crossing her arms tightly over her chest.

"Stop twisting my words around, you know that I've always wanted to be your guardian! I'm just saying that I don't want to have to go to your royal thing today, it has nothing to do with not wanting to be your guardian," I said as my temper flared to match hers.

"It has everything to do with not wanting to be my guardian!" she yelled, the volume of her voice rising.

"If you don't want me to be your guardian then fine! You can find someone else who wants to go with you to all of your royal needs!" I yelled as I stormed away, leaving our room and running down the hall. I had no idea where I was heading, but I wasn't entirely surprised to find myself at Dimitri's room.

I knocked loudly, yelling, "Dimitri, open up!"

The door opened quickly and I stumbled a little, caught off guard while still trying to knock.

"What do you need?" he asked quietly, looking away from me.

"I think Lissa isn't on her medication anymore," I answered seriously, looking him dead in the eye.

He motioned for me to come in, and I stepped inside hesitantly, looking around at his small room.

His room was less than half the size of Lissa and mine's, colored a light brown on the walls, with a stiff gray carpet. He had a few of his western novels thrown around the room, all open to a specific page and looking as if they were stomped on. I knew that that wasn't the case though, that he just read them a lot.

"Now, why do you think that?" he asked, sitting down on his bed as he motioned for me to sit in his desk chair.

"She got oddly angry at me today all of a sudden. Her temper just flared up and she started yelling. Then, when I searched the bond, I felt some of the blackness that comes as an effect of using spirit. So, either she's not taking her medicine or it's not working as well," I finished, purposefully leaving out what we were fighting about.

His brow furrowed in deep thought, as we sat in silence for a few uncomfortable moments. We still hadn't really talked about him catching me with Mason.

"Yes, that could be a problem. Did the darkness seem to be as bad as before?" he asked, wrinkling his brow in concentration.

I shook my head, "It was only there a little bit, it wasn't bad, but it was definitely there."

He nodded, "Alright. Well there's nothing we can do now, just let me know if it gets worse," he said, deep in thought again.

"Okay. Now if you would excuse me, I need to go fix this," I said, standing up and making my way towards the door.

"Goodbye, Rose," he said, turning away to work on something he was obviously trying to hide from me.

"Bye," I said, stepping out of his room and into the barren hall. Seeing Dimitri like that almost made me regret the decision to get serious with Mason. Dimitri was much more like a mature man, while Mason was merely an immature boy.

I was pulled out of my thoughts as I collided with something hard.

"Hey, watch it!" I yelled out, then looked up to see that I was face to face with Lissa.

"Sorry," she shrugged, glaring at me.

"Sorry, thought you were someone else. I was actually just going to find you," I said, standing up and extending my hand for her to take.

"Good, 'cause I was looking for you," she said, taking my hand and allowing me to pull her up.

"I'm sorry," we both said at the same time, then giggled.

"What are you sorry for? It was me that was acting like a psycho bitch," she said, grinning.

"I'm sorry I didn't want to go with you to your banquet," I said, as we started walking back towards our room.

"It's okay. I understand, I just overreacted," she said, hugging me tightly right before we walked into our room.

I hadn't really brought a lot on the trip, but I had brought Tasha's dress just in case. I took a quick shower, blow dried my hair and put on the dress. It was absolutely perfect. It was a red flowing dress, resting at the top of my knees, with a low cut v-neck top with small straps. It clung to me in the perfect places, accenting my dhampir curves. I did a quick make-up job and stepped out of the bathroom to wait for Lissa.

"Wow, Rose, you look hot!" she exclaimed as she stared at me. She was looking stunning herself in a dress somewhat similar to mine, only in a violet purple.

"You don't look too bad yourself," I said, gesturing to her dress.

When we arrived at the banquet, almost all of the men's heads turned, a few of them wolf whistling at us as we took our seats. Most of the royal women scoffed at me, ashamed that Lissa brought a dhampir along. Nevertheless, we dug into our food and I finished in a matter of minutes. Most of the royals I was sitting with completely ignored me, and Lissa was busy chatting with an old family friend.

I admired how charismatic she was when it came to her own group of people. Normally I was the social one, always pushing her to talk to more people, but here, she naturally drew all these Moroi in.

When we finished the meal, we both stood up and I was about to walk towards the door when Lissa piped up.

"We have to mingle."

"Mingle?" I asked, my discomfort showing through clearly.

She laughed, "I thought you were the social one," she gave me a quick glance before grabbing my arm and pulling me along with her.

For most of the night, I clung to her side, bored out of my mind since nobody was even taking a second look at me.

It was amazing how polite and charming she was while she entertained conversations with the most royal Moroi around. Everyone naturally came to her, eager to listen to her talk. I on the other hand, was painfully aware that I was the only dhampir guest. Other dhampirs were here, but they were on the outskirts of the room, the guardians of the event.

We made our way to the other end of the room and approached two men carrying on an unmistakably loud conversation.

I recognized one of the men as the guy from the fight I'd helped break up. The other one was an older man with silver hair, his eyes constantly darting around the room nervously.

As we got closer, I realized that they were talking about Moroi protection. The younger guy was arguing about Moroi going off to fight the Strigoi.

"What part of suicide don't you understand?" asked the silver haired man.

"It's not suicide! It's the right thing to do. We have to start looking out for ourselves. Learning to fight and use our magic is our greatest asset, other than the guardians," he explained, showcasing his beliefs.

"Yes, but with the guardians, we don't need other assets," said Silver Hair. "You've been listening to non-royals. They don't have any guardians of their own, so of course they're scared. But that's no reason to drag us down and put our lives at risk."

"Then don't," Lissa said suddenly. Her voice was quiet, but it had a powerful effect. Everyone standing nearby, listening, turned to look at her. "When you talk about Moroi learning how to fight, you make it sound like an all-or-nothing matter. It's not. If you don't want to fight, then you shouldn't have to. I completely understand." The men stared at her in shock, waiting silently for her to continue. "But, that's because you can rely on your guardians. A lot of Moroi can't. And if they want to learn self-defense, there's no reason why they shouldn't do it on their own."

The younger guy grinned triumphantly at the older one, "There, you see?"

"It's not that easy," Silver Hair objected. "If it was just a matter of you crazy people wanting to get yourselves killed, then fine. Go do it. But where are you going to learn all these so-called fighting skills?"

"We can teach ourselves the magic part. Guardians can teach us actual physical fighting."

"I knew it! You still want to take our guardians for your stupid little suicide mission!" Silver Hair said loudly, taking a step closer to the younger guy.

"There's another way," Lissa piped up again. Everyone's eyes turned towards her again, curious as to what magical advice she had to give.

"How?" asked the younger guy, his face slightly flushed with anger.

"The same way guardians do," she shrugged, "Go back to academics and learn how to fight just like dhampirs do. This way, guardians will stay with their Moroi and you can practice in a safe environment. Self-defense could even be taught as a mandatory class for Moroi at the academy."

Everyone surrounding her stared at her in awe. It was the perfect solution, it gave neither person all of their demands but it gave them enough that they would both be pleased with the results. The large group around us started talking animatedly, trying to find a way to get her plan into action.

I was shoved to the outside of the group, which was fine by me as I marched up to a tray full of food.

"What is this?" I asked, pointing to the foreign food on the waitress' tray.

"Sweetbread," she answered, extending the tray out to me.

I shrugged, feeling adventurous and reached for it.

"That's pancreas," a voice said behind me. I pulled back my hand quickly. The waitress shrugged and moved on to the next guest.

Adrian moved in front of me, grinning at my shock in amusement.

"Are you messing with me?" I glared at him, taking in his appearance. He looked stunning, of course, in his black tuxedo and perfectly gelled hair, his emerald eyes twinkling as his lips turned up into a gorgeous smile. He looked much better than any guy I had seen so far.

"Not at all," he shrugged innocently, "But are you following me?"

"Absolutely not!" I objected, walking away from him to sit down in a deserted corner. Like I knew he would, he followed me and sat beside me, dangerously close.

"What is this? The fifth time you've found me?" he grinned wickedly, looking at me intently.

He looked away for a second to grab champagne off a waiter's tray, offering me some. I shook my head, remembering my last encounter with alcohol.

"So I hear Vasilisa put my dad in his place," he said nonchalantly as he took a sip.

"That's your dad?" I asked, curiously looking back towards the bickering group, glancing at Silver Hair.

"That's what I'm told," he said, looking at his mostly empty cup of champagne.

"Well do you agree with him?" I asked, staring intently, waiting for his answer.

"I don't really have an opinion on the whole Moroi fighting thing," he answered, shrugging and leaning back in his chair.

"How? Everyone talks about it all the time, especially here," I gestured to the royal banquet as he shrugged again.

"I just don't think about it, I have much better things to do," he grinned at me suggestively, turning his attention towards me.

"Like stalk me? What has it been, five times?" I asked, rolling my eyes, trying to keep the smile off my face.

He nodded as I counted off in my head how many times we had bumped into each other.

"No, I count four. There was the first night, the night at the spa, when I came to your room and now tonight," I said, furrowing my brow in confusion.

He smirked at me secretively, "If you say so."

"I do say so," I trailed off, thinking about the time I had talked to him in my dream, "You don't mean?"

"Mean what?" he asked, his smirk widening as if tempting me to say it.

"Never mind," I shook my head and glanced over at Lissa. "She's pretty amazing, huh?"

"Who?" He asked, following my line of sight to the group of people surrounding her.

"Lissa. Everyone is just drawn to her natural charm. It's like they can't force themselves to go away," I paused turning to look at him. "It's like how I feel when I talk to you."

"You don't hate me do you?" He asked, gulping down the remainder of his champagne.

"Well, no, but I don't like you," I said, staring into his eyes, intoxicated by his signature scent. He smelled of alcohol and cologne, with a hint of mild sweat, creating a sweet scent.

"As you always say," he said, leaning in closer to me, making the space between us more intimate. I was suddenly extremely aware of how close he really was and wondered what would happen if Mason walked by. "But I can live with that," he finished, staring into my eyes, all the joking out of his facial expression.

"Rose!" I jolted away from Adrian, creating space between us. My mothers hard voice cut through the air threateningly as she stormed up to us, completely fuming.

**

* * *

Okay so I'm going to stop. I'm only stopping because I really need to update this for all of the amazing people out there who reviewed!!! This would have gotten out earlier but I've been really busy with homework, tests, and soccer. Please review again and let me know what you think!! It will change into something more of my own soon, I just happen to like this part of the book.**

**Review!**


	3. Don't Die On Me Yet

**Okay so I am extremely sorry for the extremely long wait. I realize that it's been a month but I haven't been on fanfiction in ages and wasn't in the mood for writing. Okay enough excuses on my part onward with the story.**

**I can't find my book so I'm just going to try and go from memory, even though I wanted to follow the plot. Enjoy!**

* * *

"_As you always say," he said, leaning in closer to me, making the space between us more intimate. I was suddenly extremely aware of how close he really was and wondered what would happen if Mason walked by. "But I can live with that," he finished, staring into my eyes, all the joking out of his facial expression._

"_Rose!" I jolted away from Adrian, creating space between us. My mothers hard voice cut through the air threateningly as she stormed up to us, completely fuming._

"What?" I asked, looking up hesitantly to meet her eyes.

"Can I speak with you outside?" She said through clenched teeth, giving me a cold glare.

I stood up, glancing at Adrian helplessly as he just shrugged.

"Good day Lord Ivashkov," my mother nodded to Adrian politely as she pulled me by the arm out of the room.

"What were you thinking?" She asked in a hushed voice as soon as we were out of earshot.

"What are you talking about? We were just talking!" I objected, staring her down as my temper started to rise.

She snorted, "That sure didn't look like you were just talking. Do you know how much of a bad reputation that boy has?"

"Yes, I do. I'm very aware of his reputation. But it's not like I was doing anything with him," I sneered, feeling threatened by her stare, despite the fact that she was several inches shorter than me. "Besides, since when do you care what I do?"

"I have always cared about you," she said each word slowly, accenting every syllable.

"Oh please, you chose your job over your family. You just dumped me at the Academy and left me there," I said menacingly. She grimaced at my harsh words and stepped closer to me.

"It was what was best for you," she said quietly. She stood there for a moment longer, and then turned on her heel and left me standing in the middle of the deserted hallway alone. I sunk against the wall, allowing my body to slide down to the ground as I buried my face in my hands, replaying our conversation.

I heard someone's footsteps approaching, but didn't care enough to look up and see who it was. The person sat next to me and sighed. I put my hands down and turned to look at the person who sat down. Mason's green** (AN I don't remember what color they are)** eyes stared back at me with a mix of curiosity and worry. He gently wrapped his arm around my shoulder, pulling me closer to him.

"Do you want to talk about it?" He asked as I rested my head on his shoulder.

"She doesn't care about me," I replied softly, fighting back tears. He pressed his lips against the top of my head before answering.

"Of course she does. If she didn't she wouldn't have sent you to the Academy. She wants you to be as successful as her," he said as I wrapped my arms around his waist.

"Then why doesn't she ever visit me?" I said with a shaky voice as a single tear escaped my eye. I quickly brushed it away before Mason could see that I was crying.

"Maybe it would be too hard for her to leave again if she visited and became close to you," he suggested, resting his head on mine.

I didn't want to believe him, but I knew what he was saying was true. It _would_ be hard to say good-bye over and over again. I knew that if I was in my mother's position, I would probably do the same thing, showing my love in different ways than the average parent does.

I kissed his cheek quickly, muttering a, "Thanks, Mase. You're the best."

"Anytime, Rose, anytime," he whispered, tilting my chin up to kiss me softly on the lips. It reminded me of when I talked to Dimitri and then he kissed me, except Dimitri's kiss seemed more like something that he was longing to do, while Mason's was out of sweet love for me.

I enjoyed his lips on mine and was disappointed when he pulled away. He gently stroked my cheek, staring at me.

"You're beautiful, Rose," he whispered, and I could tell that he meant it. I kissed him, closing my eyes to enjoy the effect of his lips. For the first time, I really felt like he was the right one for me, not Dimitri. I never thought that anyone besides Dimitri would have such a powerful effect on me.

"Mason!" A male's voice said abruptly, bringing me back to reality.

"What Eddie? I'm kind of busy here," he gestured to me as he angrily stared up at his best friend.

Eddie shrugged, "Sorry, but this is urgent. Rose, could I borrow him for a minute?" He asked, turning to me for permission.

I nodded, "You sure? I don't have to go, you know," Mason said, running his fingers through my hair and sounding like he really didn't want to go.

"Go, it'll only take a second," I said, kissing him once more before he stood up. He nodded and glanced down at me for a moment before walking away with Eddie.

I sat in silence for awhile, but was pulled out of my thoughts and sucked into Lissa's head. She was frantically looking around for me, as I had disappeared from the banquet a long time ago. I totally had forgotten about her, as I was too engulfed in my own emotions to think about anyone else's.

"Adrian! There you are!" she called, grabbing Adrian's arm and pulling him away from the large crowd.

"What's up, cousin?" he slurred nonchalantly, taking a swig of the alcohol he held in his hands.

Lissa's worry grew stronger, suspending me in her head, "Have you seen Rose?"

He thought for a moment, obviously trying to remember what happened earlier in the night. Lissa's annoyance grew to the point where she persisted and asked again.

"Yes, I have. I was talking with her before, then her mom pulled her out of the room and brought her that way," he said, pointing to the door I had exited an hour or so ago.

"Thanks!" she said, pecking him on the cheek and hurrying to the door.

I finally pulled myself out of her head, and felt myself back on the cold, stone floor of the hallway, wondering why she was so worried about me. I looked up and saw Lissa running full speed towards me, her worry fading a little through the bond.

"There you are!" she exclaimed, encircling me into a tight embrace.

"Hey, Liss," I said, confused as I hugged her back. She let go and observed my body, seeming as if she was looking for something.

"Are you hurt in any way?" she asked, snapping her gaze up to meet my eyes, waiting for my answer.

"Um, no? Liss, what's going on here? What's wrong?"

She looked around quickly and pulled me into a nearby bathroom. She shut the door and locked it, then, seeming satisfied with herself, proceeded to tell me what was happening.

"There was an attack in Spokane," she whispered, glancing around again nervously. "Four novices were attacked and killed by Strigoi. I heard that Mason, Eddie and Mia were thinking about going there to try and kill some of the Strigoi, and was afraid that they had gone and you went after them."

I stared at her in shock, "Who were the novices?" I stammered, hoping that that wasn't the reason why Eddie took Mason away from me.

"They won't tell anyone. An old family friend was blabbing about the attack at the banquet and then I realized that you had been gone for a long time, so I set out to find you."

"Lissa, I need to go find Mason," I said, letting my worry take the best of me.

"Why? What happened?" she asked, blocking my only exit.

"I was talking to him and Eddie came and took him away. He told him it was urgent and that it would only take a second. They never came back," I said quickly, slipping past her and running towards Mason's room.

I sprinted through the never-ending hallways and banged on Mason's door, gasping for air.

The door opened and I was face to face with Mason's roommate, Shane.

"Is Mason here?" I asked quickly, trying to catch my breath. Shane shook his head.

"I thought he was with you."

I froze, thinking of all the possibilities and already imagining Mason being killed by two evil Strigoi. I shook my head, forcing the bad thoughts out of my head and thinking of what to do next.

"Thanks, Shane," I said, running back out the door and making my way towards Eddie's room as fast as I could.

I wasted no time in knocking and just barged right in.

"Eddie is Mas-" I stopped, seeing Mia and Eddie on the bed, and knowing at once that I had interrupted something.

"Oh my God, I am so sorry!" I apologized, looking away from them and preparing to leave.

"Wait!" Eddie called after me, grabbing my arm and turning me around to face him. I hesitantly looked at him, and noticed that he was shirtless.

"What did you need?" he asked, closing the door behind me and walking back to the bed to sit down.

"Do you know where Mason is?" I asked frantically, trying my best to look anywhere but at him.

"I sent him back to where you were sitting as soon as I was done talking to him," he shrugged, running a hand through his hair.

"Oh," I replied simply, feeling stupid that I hadn't just waited for him. "Well, like I said before, I'm sorry. Bye," I said, exiting Eddie's room and feeling relieved that they weren't the ones dead in Spokane.

I turned the third corner and nearly smacked right into Mason.

"Mason!" I exclaimed, an ear splitting grin exploding on my face as I wrapped my arms tightly around his waist.

"Hey, Rose," he said, sounding confused as he returned my hug. I let go of him and stepped back a little, looking up at his familiar face.

"I thought you might have been dead," I confessed as my smile dropped, being replaced by a sad grimace.

His eyes widened in shock, "Why in the world would I be dead?"

"When I heard that novices were killed in Spokane, I thought the worst. I thought that maybe Eddie had taken you and Mia to Spokane to try and kill Strigoi, and that you had died in the process," I said softly, my lip quivering slightly.

He pulled me back into his chest, rubbing soothing circles on my back as I cried and clung to him.

It seemed like we were standing there forever, but I pulled back and forced myself to look up at him, despite my red-rimmed eyes.

"He was actually asking me for advice about Mia," he said, a small smile lighting up his face.

"Yeah, I figured after I walked in on them making out on his bed," I replied with an embarrassed grin as I felt my cheeks get hot.

He chuckled and his face returned to its normal carefree grin, "Well that must have been awkward."

"Yeah just a little," I teased as he grabbed my hand. "But, oh well. They'll get over it," I grinned at him.

"But of course," he grinned back, kissing my cheek and bringing me towards his room.

I always felt so relaxed around Mason, even when just talking about me thinking he was dead. We laughed and talked all the way to his room.

"Madam," he said with a bad British accent, as he opened the door for me and let me enter first.

I giggled and kissed him, "You'll get your tip later," I winked at him and couldn't help but laugh at the hungry look on his face. I walked farther into his room and took my coat off, setting it down on Shane's uninhabited bed.

All of a sudden, a pair of arms lifted me from then ground and carried me to Mason's bed, "Ahh!" I squealed as he set me down and hovered over me, grinning triumphantly.

I pulled him down by his shirt and glued my lips to his, kissing him forcefully. He slid his arms around my waist as I tangled my hands in his hair.

After about an hour of making out, I told him that I should probably get going before Lissa starts worrying again. He agreed and told me that he was walking me back to my room.

"Mase, it's okay. You don't have to," I objected, looking up into his eyes from underneath him.

"But I want to," he persisted, pinning my arms down on the bed with his hands.

I squirmed, trying to get out from under his grasp, but he only tightened his grip and put one knee on either side of my body.

"I need to leave, you know," I said, as he smirked at me.

"I know. But I like watching you struggle," his smirk grew as he lowered his body onto mine.

I rolled my eyes and kissed him softly, taking the advantage it gave me and slipping out from under him. He toppled to the floor and stood up quickly.

"Hey, that wasn't fair!" he objected as he caught up with me and put his arm around my shoulders.

"I know," I said with a grin.

"Well then why'd you do it?" he persisted as we walked towards my room.

"You're cute when you lose," I wiggled my eyebrows at him suggestively as his jaw dropped for a second before he recomposed his face into his signature goofy grin.

"Well then maybe I should lose more often."

"Nah, I like a little competition," I winked at him as we neared my room. "Goodnight," I whispered, kissing him and opening the door.

"Night," he said, waving at me and walking away. I waved back before I closed the door.

"Well someone's happy," Lissa noted as I realized my smile for the first time.

"Yes I am. Turns out he wasn't dead," I said as I changed my clothes into something more comfortable.

"I can see that," she said, looking back down to her book that was currently in her lap.

I grinned at her and the last thing I remembered before I fell asleep was that Mason had made me felt happier in one night than Dimitri ever had.

**

* * *

I wrote all of this in one day!!! I'm so proud of myself, I can never write a chapter in one day, it normally takes me at least three days for a nice long chapter. Well even though I don't deserve it, could you please review and let me know how you like what I've written so far? I would really appreciate it! **

**Thanks for reading!!!**


	4. Rose, What Were You Thinking?

**Thank you to everyone that reviewed! I can't believe I'm getting such positive feedback for this story. And here I am thinking it sucks and everyone seems to like it and want more. Thanks guys!!**

**I still can't find my book so I'm just going to go my own way now. This chapter gets a little crazy and complicated, but hopefully you like it anyway!**

* * *

I woke up in the morning to find Lissa's bed empty. I did a quick check of where she was and found her sound asleep in Christian's bed. I grinned, I guess they got back together.

"Hey there you are!" I smiled when I saw Mason hanging out in the lodge.

"Hey, Rose, did you sleep well?" He grinned back at me, and patted the spot on the couch next to him.

"Good enough," I shrugged, ignoring the new spot on the couch and just sitting on his lap instead.

"Well, hey there!" His grin widened as I turned around to face him. I leaned forward and kissed him quickly, not wanting to start making out, in case someone came into the lodge and interrupted.

"What do you want to do today?" I asked, running my hands up his shirt absentmindedly.

He hesitated for a few moments, then finally tore his eyes away from my wandering hands to answer me, "It doesn't matter to me, anything you want."

"Want to go hit the slopes?" I asked, glancing outside for a second before returning my eyes to his cute face.

"Sure. But, I think you have to get off of me first," he smirked, his lips turning up at the corners playfully.

"Ugh," I groaned, "I don't like that idea," I smiled at him flirtatiously and put my hand around his neck.

"Well neither do I, but-" he stopped suddenly, looking past me at something or someone.

"What?" I asked, turning my head to see what he was staring at. Dimitri was standing there looking as hurt as ever at me being on Mason's lap. He quickly composed his face, but I could still see the hurt in his dark brown eyes.

"Mr. Ashford, Ms. Hathaway, I suggest you put some space between you before I bring Headmistress Kirova to watch you two for the rest of this trip," he grimaced at us, glaring at Mason. I hopped off his lap and sat next to him, still closer than Dimitri probably liked.

"Sorry, sir, it won't happen again," Mason replied, nodding at Dimitri briefly before standing up.

"It better not. Or I will forbid the two of you from contact until we return to the Academy," Dimitri murmured, giving Mason a cold glare.

"Rose, can I please speak to you in private? I have a message from your mother," he said, looking at me and gesturing away from Mason.

I nodded, "I'll see you in a little while, Mase," I said, looking at Mason, who nodded.

"I'll just go get my coat, come to my room when you're done?" he asked, leaving after I told him I would. I stood up and Dimitri and I stared at each other for a few long, awkward moments.

"Can we speak in there?" Dimitri gestured to an empty room.

"Okay," I agreed, following Dimitri into the small room hesitantly. I turned to face him, and saw that his earlier mask had vanished, being replaced by hurt and disappointment.

"So you really like this boy?" he asked, focusing his attention on the cover of an old book, pretending as if he didn't care.

"Yes I do," I replied quietly, standing there, waiting for Dimitri to keep talking.

"But what about us? We could make it work you know," he said, yanking his eyes away from the book and stepping closer to me, making the distance more intimate. I sat down, not wanting to feel what I normally feel when Dimitri is this close.

He responded by pulling a chair up to me and sitting next to me, sitting even closer than he was standing.

"I'm not sure if that would be such a good idea," I frowned, leaning away from him.

"Why not?" he asked, taking my hands in his, "I could work for a different Moroi and then we could get married once you get out of this school. We could finally be like a normal couple. Just think about it, doesn't it sound perfect?" his eyes gleamed as a slow smile crept onto his face.

I considered his offer for a few moments, looking down at our intertwined hands and wondering how my love life could be so difficult. I finally start getting over Dimitri, and now he springs this insane fantasy onto me, reeling me back in.

"But what about Mason? I don't just want to dump him," I pointed out as he contemplated the fact that I could actually care about someone my own age.

"Rose, a girl like you deserves someone better than just a boy. You deserve a man," he said softly, his eyes boring holes into my cheek, as I refused to look him in the eye.

"Dimitri. . ." I trailed off, conflicted.

"Yes, Roza?" he replied quickly, his Russian accent clear as he murmured my name in Russian.

"I don't think I can do this," I confessed, feeling my cheeks burn with embarrassment.

"Yes you can, yes you can," he whispered, his lips brushing my ear and sending a spark of electricity coursing through my body.

I finally allowed myself a quick peek at his face, but knew instantly that that was a mistake. I was overwhelmed by his presence, his smell intoxicating me. His face was just so close and I found myself staring at his lips longingly, desperately wanting them on mine in this very instant. I felt as if I was being controlled as I leaned forward only slightly, feeling Dimitri's hot breath on my face.

He seemed to see what I wanted, and closed the distance between us, crashing his lips onto mine. I hungrily jumped into his lap, throwing my arms around his neck and tilting my head to deepen the kiss. His hands flew up to my hair as he removed it from its ponytail and ran his fingers through it.

He moved his hands to my waist for a second, pulling me closer to him, then returning his hands to my hair, tangling his fingers into the soft waves. Just as I was about to pull back for air, Dimitri moved his lips to my neck, creating a trail of soft kisses along my neck and collarbone.

"You are so beautiful," he whispered in between breaths, as I closed my eyes to fully experience his warm lips burning my neck.

He returned his lips to my own, kissing me forcefully and roughly. I realized how much I had missed kissing Dimitri. Mason's kisses were great but Dimitri's were just so Earth-shattering.

In the back of my mind, I slightly remembered that I was supposed to be meeting Mason soon, but it wasn't enough to make me stop.

I let Dimitri glide his hands up the back of my shirt, moving my hands to the bottom of his shirt, and beginning to lift it over his head.

"Rose?" I heard a gasp from the doorway of the room. I let go off Dimitri and turned to face our intruder.

"Mason!" I cried, getting off Dimitri and walking towards Mason.

"What the hell are you doing?" Mason yelled, glaring at me with hatred.

"I can explain," I started, but was cut off.

"You can explain why you were making out with your mentor?" He yelled, his voice raising.

"Okay, you're right, maybe I can't explain, but I lost control of myself," I tried to reason with him, knowing that it would most likely make it worse.

"Well why would you even start? First of all, he's _seven_ years older than you!" Mason yelled, almost at his full volume. I cautiously took and step forward and reached out to him.

"Mase . . ." I touched his arm gingerly, but he pulled away roughly, glaring at me.

"We're through," he sneered, turning away and leaving Dimitri and I alone.

I felt a tear run down my cheek as I realized what I had just done and how much I love Mason.

"Rose, I'm so sorry, I should have never asked you to come into here with me," Dimitri said, putting his hand on my shoulder gently.

I shook it off, turning and glaring at him, "You knew this was going to happen, didn't you? And you did it anyway!" I cried, tears streaming down my cheeks, "I hate you!" I yelled, hitting him in the chest and running out of the room.

I ran as fast as I could away from that stupid room. I kept running until I had no idea where I was. I was in some sort of royal Moroi area, one that I'd never been in before. I didn't care, I just wanted to get away from that awful mistake.

I walked deeper into the mass of people, not knowing what I was looking for.

"Would you like one?" a waiter asked me as he extended a tray of some alcoholic drink out to me.

"Yes, thank you," I smiled at him, taking a glass as he grinned back at me.

I took a sip of the drink, and gagged. It was definitely a lot stronger than I thought it would be. I shrugged, it didn't really matter, there was no pool around to fall into.

I took another sip, starting to feel a little dizzy. I pushed past clusters of Moroi and sat down on a bench.

"Do I know you from somewhere?" I looked up to find a good-looking Moroi a few years older than me. He had clean cut, shining brown hair, bright blue eyes, and a little thicker than most Moroi men.

I shrugged, "I don't know, maybe. You want to sit down?" I asked him, glancing at the spot next to me.

"Thanks. I'm Andrew by the way," he extended his hand out to me.

I took it and shook hands, "Rose," I said, taking another sip of my drink. "Hey do you know what this is?" I asked, gesturing to the glass in my hand.

"Yeah, it's a Moroi specialty, some house mix. It's one of the strongest things you can drink here," he said, looking at me.

"Oh well that explains a lot then," I slurred, already feeling drunk.

He laughed, grinning at me as he said, "Already drunk?"

I smiled flirtatiously, "Maybe a little."

"Well, I think I might just have to take advantage of that," he grinned at me, staring at my body as he slid closer to me. He placed his hand on my thigh and leaned forward. I met him the rest of the way, my drunken senses not working very well. He immediately slipped his tongue into my mouth, sliding one hand up the pant leg of my shorts, and the other holding me forcefully by the head.

Somewhere in me, I knew I should stop, and I pulled away saying, "No, I don't know you, I'm drunk."

He stared at me lustily, "That's fine with me," he said, shoving his tongue back in my mouth as he forced his hand up my shirt.

"No, get off of me!" I said, pushing him away as I stood up.

He glared at me, "Oh no you don't!" he pulled me back down and held me down, leaving me helpless. I tried to punch him, but my aim was off due to my large amount of alcohol consumption. He pushed his right hand into my bra, the other one holding onto my back to keep me from moving. Seeming satisfied with himself, he took his right hand out of my shirt and tried to shove it down my pants.

"No!" I cried, trying and failing to push him off again. All of a sudden, his arm caught fire, and he yelped, instantly letting go of me as he tried to brush off the flames.

I looked up to see Christian standing in front of us a few feet away, concentrating on Andrew, as the fire moved up to burn his face. He wasn't trying to hurt him too badly, as the fire barely touched him.

Andrew ran away, jumping into the nearest hot tub, and all the flames vanished as the crowd laughed at Andrew.

"Rose!" Christian yelled, moving up to me, looking me up and down, "Are you hurt?"

"No, not yet," I said, trying not to slur but failing.

He narrowed his eyes at me, "Oh no. Rose, have you been drinking?"

"Only a little," I slurred, cursing myself for drinking so much.

"Why are you even here?" he put his arm protectively around my waist and pulled me out of the party.

"I'm not sure. I just ran and this is where I ended up. I didn't think I would end up doing that," I said, feeling myself slipping down. He tightened his grip on me, turning the corner and pulling me into his room. I didn't even notice how fast we had been moving.

He sat me down on his extra bed, sitting across from me, "You're really lucky I showed up when I did, that man would have full out raped you if nobody stopped him."

All of a sudden, I burst into tears, sobbing loudly, "I know! And I couldn't do anything to stop him, I was too drunk!"

"Here, take this," he said, extending a bottle of water out to me and moving to the bed I was on to sit next to me.

"Thanks," I said, taking a sip but not being able to drink more. I sobbed into his shoulder, letting out all my sadness.

"Maybe you shouldn't drink anymore," he said, gently stroking my hair.

I nodded, "You're right, I really shouldn't. Thank you, Christian," I said, kissing his cheek and sitting up, trying to recompose myself.

"Anytime, Rose, you're like my little sister, I would never let anything happen to you."

I nodded, taking a big gulp of water and starting to feel a little better. I stood up, about to leave, but Christian stopped me.

"Not so fast! Where are you going?" He asked, sitting me back down.

"Back to my dorm," I said, drinking more water.

"Where's Lissa?" he asked, studying me to make sure I was okay. I tried to find her through the bond, but it was numbed because of all the alcohol.

I shook my head, "I don't know. Alcohol numbs the bond."

Just then, we heard a knock at the door. Christian stood up and went to get it.

"Rose?" Lissa asked, running past Christian to sit next to me. "Are you okay? I've been trying to find you all day."

I shook my head, "No, I'm not okay. Mason dumped me and I almost got raped by some royal Moroi until Christian here saved me."

Lissa put her arm around my shoulder and pulled me towards her, "Why did Mason dump you?"

I thought for awhile about how to answer that, but I wasn't ready to tell her about Dimitri yet, "He saw me making out with another guy."

"Rose! What were you doing with another guy?" She exclaimed, looking aghast.

"I'm not sure, he just kind of took over and overwhelmed me and I couldn't stop," I sighed, feeling more tears glide down my cheeks.

"Oh no, Rose! You really need to be more careful," she said, rubbing my shoulder comfortingly.

"I know. But right now I'm still sort of drunk, so I think I need to go to bed." I said, standing up.

She nodded, "Alright, well be careful on your way there, I'll be there in a little while."

I nodded, "Goodnight, guys. And thanks again Christian," I muttered before leaving the two of them and trudging to my room alone.

**

* * *

Alright I think I should be done with this chapter now, even though it isn't that long. To me, it seems extremely long only because it took a long time to write. Big stuff coming in the next few chapters! There's going to be some action and maybe a little twist with Lissa, but you'll just have to keep reading! Please review!**


	5. Endless Possibilities

**Thanks for all the reviews again guys!! It makes me want to actually write more! I have a great plot coming along and starting to develop, so stick with me, please!!**

* * *

"Oh my God, I have such an awful headache," I moaned, rubbing my head as Lissa pulled me out of my bed.

"Well, maybe you shouldn't have had so much to drink!" Lissa groaned, literally pulling me to an upright position.

"I know," I mumbled, rubbing the sleep out of my eyes and glancing up at her. I frowned when I looked at her. I searched through the bond and felt some more of the darkness that comes with a side affect of using spirit. "Lissa?"

She stopped what she was doing, "Yes?"

"Are you okay? You seem kind of sad," I trailed off, walking towards her.

"I'm fine," she frowned, the darkness fading away as curiosity took over her mood.

I nodded, "Okay, just let me know if you aren't feeling good."

She shrugged, "Alright, I will I guess. Hey, I'm going to be out all day, just come find me if you need me."

"I will," I nodded and we both turned our separate ways, splitting up and doing different things. I had no idea what I was going to do, considering I blew it with Mason, so I just wandered into the lodge, instantly regretting it as soon as I did.

A bunch of my classmates were sitting in the lodge, and as soon as I walked in, they all started pointing at me and whispering. I decided that I didn't care about any of them, but I did care that Mason was sitting on one of the couches with his arm around a girl.

He glanced up at me and smirked, seeming to be doing this to make me jealous. I glared at him and stomped up to him, ignoring all the snickers of the kids around me.

"Hey Rose, is it true you would be willing to have sex with anyone?" One of the novices smirked at me, "Because I know a guy who would love to be with a hot thing like you," he stared at my body with a grin.

I turned around and punched him in the gut, "I'm not willing to have sex with anyone, certainly not you!" I whispered, punching him again.

I turned to Mason, "Mason can I talk to you in private?"

His cocky grin widened, "You can say whatever you need to right here," he said, pulling the girl closer to him.

I glared at him threateningly, "Mason," I warned.

"Fine. I'll be right back," he said to the girl, giving her a long kiss on the lips before he stood up and walked away with me.

"What is it?" he snapped, returning my glare, tapping his foot impatiently.

"Did you tell everyone about Dimitri?" I asked, masking my face.

He looked shocked, "No! Of course not! I just told a few people that I caught you cheating on me and they all thought it meant sex."

"Thank you," I paused, letting the relief take me over, "And I'm really really sorry about what I did, I feel horrible about it."

"Well it's obvious that I'm not the only one for you," he answered softly, sounding hurt.

"Yes you are, Mason! I love you," I replied, feeling stupid for walking away with Dimitri, "I had no idea that was going to happen!"

"Well I love you too, but I don't know if I can forgive you for that. I'm sorry, Rose," he said, hesitantly stepping forward and kissing me softly before saying, "Goodbye."

I grabbed him by the arm, holding him back, "Why can't we just forget all of this and go back to how we were before?" I asked, pulling him closer.

He gently pulled away from me, "Because I saw the way you looked at him, how much you craved him, and I don't know if this is the first time or not."

And with that, he walked away, leaving me alone, hating myself for kissing Dimitri back.

I knew that he would be mad, but I didn't think that he would actually stick to his decision and not take me back. I sat down on the cold floor, dropping my head to my hands.

"Rose?" a familiar voice said to me, stopping right in front of me.

"God, Adrian, what do you want?" I asked impatiently. "Here to ruin what's left of my life?"

"Of course not. I heard what happened and I just wanted to let you know that I'm sorry, and if you need anyone, I'm here," he offered me a hand to stand up, but I pushed it away and stood up on my own.

"Well that's good to know. No offense, but you're probably the last person I want to talk to," I said with a shrug, knowing that he probably didn't care that I didn't like him.

"Fine by me," he shrugged too, casually tossing his arm around my shoulders. I sighed and let it stay there, knowing that it didn't matter anymore.

"Did you hear about the Strigoi attack?" he asked randomly, leading me outside.

I shook my head, "Where was it?" I asked, gasping when the bitter cold air hit my face.

"Are you cold?" he asked, lowering his arm and taking off his jacket. "Here," he put it on me, taking longer than necessary and wrapping his arms around me.

"But won't you get cold?" I asked, snuggling into the warmth of his puffy jacket.

"Nah, I'll be fine," he answered with a grin. I looked him over and thought that he was probably lying through his teeth and was cold. He was wearing a tan long-sleeved shirt that accented his muscles, a pair of expensive-looking snow pants and expensive loafers. He looked like a million bucks.

I thought for a second, admiring the slopes in front of us, "So where did they attack?" I prodded, remembering what we were talking about before the cold.

"The Strigoi?" I nodded, "I'm not sure exactly where they attacked, but it was within ten miles of this place. Everyone freaked out and has the whole place heavily guarded with Guardians. I hear they flew in more of them and put this resort on lockdown."

"Really? Well why didn't I hear about it?" I asked, feeling comfortable and safe under Adrian's arm.

"They're trying to keep it quiet, they don't want to make a spectacle," he said, shrugging his shoulders, "If you ask me, I think it would be better to warn everyone, but nobody listens to me."

I pulled on Adrian's hand and walked over to a couch. I sat down and pulled him down after me. He gave me a dirty grin, which I slapped off his face. I let him sit close to me and return his arm to my shoulders.

A few people gave us weird looks, but I was learning not to care about what people thought about me.

We sat in a comfortable silence for awhile, allowing the sounds of the nearby skiers to be the only sounds we heard.

"Hey what time is it?" he asked suddenly, glancing at me expectantly.

"About noon, why?" I answered, looking back at him.

He stood up quickly, "I have to meet someone somewhere," he stuttered, looking around frantically. "I'll see you later," he said, before kissing me swiftly on the lips and running away.

"You forgot your jacket!" I yelled after him, standing up and taking it off.

"Keep it!" He yelled over his shoulder, turning a corner and disappearing.

I sighed and knew that I didn't have anything better to do than to sit in my room and catch up on some reading. So I did just that. But as soon as I cracked open my book, I was sucked into Lissa's worrying head.

_What if he got hurt?_ She thought, pacing back and forth nervously in front of a door to a room.

Adrian sprinted up to her and almost crashed into the wall.

"I'm sorry I'm late," he huffed, gasping for air. He opened his door and pulled Lissa into his room with him, locking the door firmly behind her.

"Thank God you're here! I was worried sick that something had happened to you!" Lissa said with relief, pushing Adrian's bed and spare bed out of the way. He moved to help her and then pushed the rest of his furniture to the outskirts of the room.

"I'm fine," he said, somewhere in the time they were creating a large space in the middle of his room.

"So where do you want to start today?" Lissa asked, sitting down the floor cross-legged. He sat down across from her.

"Show me how you heal things again," he answered, pulling a dead plant out from behind him.

Lissa nodded and hovered her hand over the plant, thinking hard. She sucked all of the magic from within her and channelled it towards the plant. A flash of happiness and peacefulness flashed through her entire body and mine as the plant regained its color and looked as alive as ever.

Adrian stared at her in awe, "That was amazing," he whispered, his eyes wide. "Your aura was totally gold for a second there, and I felt the magic coursing through this room."

"It's a pretty incredible thing," she said, seeming pleased with herself.

"So how do you do it?" he asked, pulling a much smaller dead plant out from behind him.

"Well, you just concentrate on the plant and the magic within you, and you summon up as much as you can and just let it go into the plant. You just have to feel the magic and channel it into your hand."

He nodded, "I'll try." He cloned what she did, hovering his hand over the plant, his brow furrowing as he thought hard and tried to summon up his magic like her.

After several long seconds of him trying, he finally got a little bit of the plant to regain its liveliness and deep green color.

He stared at it in astonishment, "I did it!"

"Good job!" Lissa squealed in excitement, hugging him tightly. "You're a much better learner than I am. After only a few tries, you can actually heal things, and I'm still nowhere near close to dream walking yet."

"You'll get there eventually. It's a hard thing to learn. Want to work on that next?" Adrian asked, placing the two plants on a table behind him.

"Okay, sounds good," Lissa agreed.

"Do you know anyone who might be asleep right now?" Adrian asked.

Lissa thought for a second, "Christian was sleeping when I left him. He might still be asleep," she offered.

"Perfect, then you will try to enter Christian's dream," he said, standing up and offering a hand to help her.

She took it, standing up next to him, "Alright, so what do I do?"

"You know how Rose can slip into your head?" Lissa nodded, "Well it's kind of like the same thing, except we can only slip into their head when they're sleeping."

"I get that, so what should I do to try it?" She asked impatiently, starting to get annoyed at him for not just telling her how to do it.

"Just think about Christian. Think about his whole body, especially his head. Think about where he fell asleep, think about connecting to him," Adrian said slowly, while she did as he said.

They both concentrated hard and the next thing they knew they were in Christian's dream.

"You can change his dream, all you have to do is think about what you want it to look like, what you want him to wear, things like that," Adrian said softly as they walked up to Christian.

Lissa remembered the church attic they had so many sweet memories from and the dream transformed.

On command, they were all in the dusty old church attic, with candles lit for light. Christian stood before them in a light blue t-shirt and black jeans.

Lissa was wearing the same dress she wore to Priscilla's Banquet, and Adrian was wearing the same clothes he was wearing before.

"What are you two doing here?" Christian asked, confused.

"Well you know how I'm a spirit user?" Christian nodded. "So is Adrian," Lissa finished, Christian's eyes widening slightly.

He looked down at himself and frowned, "How am I wearing this? And why are we in the church's attic?"

"I know how to dream walk. I can slip into someone's dream and change how it looks and what we're wearing and pretty much anything," Adrian answered.

"So why did you choose this?" Christian asked, still confused.

"Lissa did. I'm teaching her how to dream walk too. Right now I'm using more strength than normally to help her stay here, but she's doing a great job," Adrian gave Lissa a small smile, which she returned.

"Nice job, Liss," Christian grinned at her, stepping closer to hug her. Adrian made a gagging noise, which caused Christian to glare at him and shoot some fire right next to his head.

I yanked myself out of Lissa's head, feeling betrayed by Lissa for not telling me that she was practicing spirit effects with Adrian.

I climbed out of my bed and left my room, hoping to find something to do. I walked past Mia and Eddie.

"Hey guys! Want to go ski with me?" I asked them with a grin.

They made a face at me, "Why should we? You're probably just going to cheat," my grin vanished, being replaced by a scowl.

"Fine, if that's how you want it, whatever, I have other friends," I snarled at them, giving each of them a harsh glare before stomping away.

I knocked hard on Dimitri's door, yelling, "Dimitri!" over and over again.

Finally, the door opened, but it wasn't Dimitri who answered it. I stepped back when I saw who it was.

"Rose?" The woman before me asked, seeming confused as to why I was here.

"Tasha?" I asked in return, feeling the same thing she was.

"What are you doing here?" Tasha Ozera asked kindly, gesturing for me to come in.

I shook my head, politely declining her offer, "Is Dimitri here?"

"Guardian Belikov," she corrected, "And no he's out at the moment."

I held back the growl and as nicely as I could asked, "Do you know where he is?"

She stepped outside, gently closing the door behind her, "What do you need him for?"

I was beginning to grow more and more impatient, "I need to ask him something important."

"I'm sure I can answer your question," she replied sweetly, giving me a reassuring smile.

I shook my head, "No, I'm sure you can't. This has something to do with our training," I covered up, hoping she would just tell me where he was.

"Oh. Guardian Belikov will no longer be training you, but I'm sure I can tell you the name of the new guardian who _is_ training you," she said, keeping up her sweet facade.

"Where's Dimitri going? Why won't he be my trainer anymore?" I asked, my voice raising a notch.

"Rose, you need to learn to address him by Guardian Belikov, not Dimitri," she said sternly, ignoring my questions.

"Fine, where's _Guardian Belikov_ going?" I said, mocking her slightly.

Her smile faltered for a second, "That's none of your concern," she answered, her fake smile reappearing on her face.

"Yes it is," I insisted, scowling at her and moving in closer threateningly.

"Maybe you should go now," she said coldly, glaring at me and looking as if she was resisting the urge to hit me.

"I'm going anywhere until you tell me where _Dimitri_ is," I glared at her, not giving in until before she did.

"Guardian Belikov," she corrected again.

"I don't care, I just need to know where he went," I answered harshly, getting to the point where I was about to crack.

"Goodbye Rose," she said, and with that, she slammed the door in my face and disappeared into Dimitri's room.

I stood at the door in shock for a few minutes, trying to comprehend what had just happened in that ten minute conversation.

I walked away, feeling more dejected than before, wondering if my life had a purpose.

I headed over to Adrian's room, opening the door without invitation, and walking in quietly, watching the two of them.

I guess they were still in Christian's dream, because they were like zombies, they weren't moving or even blinking. I found it kind of strange how they were just lifeless things standing in front of me.

"Adrian? Lissa?" I called loudly, hoping they would be able to hear me. When they didn't answer, I hesitantly tapped Lissa's arm, knowing that if she could feel it, she would lose her concentration and end up back in her own body.

When nothing happened, I poked Adrian, and all of a sudden, both of their bodies came to life, regaining color and movement.

"Adrian? Lissa?" I repeated, hoping that they had come back.

"Rose!" They both said at the same, sounding entirely different. Adrian sounded relieved that it was only me, and Lissa sounded scared that I might have figured out what they were doing and was mad at her.

"You two just looked insanely creepy right before you came back," I said softly, looking at both of them.

"I'm sorry you had to see that," Adrian said, "I can explain."

I shrugged, "It's fine, I already know what you were doing."

"How?" Lissa asked quickly.

"I accidently slipped into your head," I said to Lissa, as her face changed to one of understanding.

"How long were you in there?" Adrian asked, sounding like he just wanted to know the facts.

I thought back to when I was in Lissa's head, "I got sucked in right before you came running around the corner," I said to Adrian, "And then I pulled myself out right after Christian shot fire at your head."

"Oh," Adrian said, "So you know that it was really me when I showed up in your dream that one time?"

I nodded, "That's what you meant by five times, didn't you?" I asked with a small smile.

He returned the smile and nodded, "Yes, that was the fifth time."

Lissa looked between us confusedly, "What are you two talking about?"

"It's a long story," I grinned at Adrian for a second, before turning back to Lissa, "Is that what you wanted to tell me that one night? That Adrian's a spirit user just like you?"

She nodded solemnly, "I was going to tell you sooner, but I forgot about it," she explained.

"I understand," I said, feeling tears start to well up in my eyes. I searched the bond and found more darkness. I concentrated on it and it all disappeared.

"Are you okay?" her gaze softened as she stepped forward and placed her hand on my shoulder reassuringly.

I shook my head, "I feel like a mess," I whispered, a single tear rolling down my cheek. She pulled me into a tight hug.

"I know how you feel," she whispered into my ear and I closed my eyes and tried to think happy thoughts.

"Rose, what just happened? Your aura just got a lot darker, more black was added to it, out of nowhere," he said, his eyes huge.

"My what?" I asked sharply as my eyes snapped open. **(AN I don't remember when all of this happened in the book, so I'm just going to have it happen here.)**

"Your aura. As a side effect of being a spirit user, I can see people's aura's normally depicting their current mood, but ever since I've met you, yours has had an undertone of black. It just thickened, taking up more of the blue and red than before."

"See that's how Adrian knew I was a spirit user, my aura is gold, just like his," Lissa explained, letting go of me and sitting down in a chair.

"So there are other powers you can get?" I asked, thinking of all the possibilities that spirit has to offer.

She nodded, "Yes, and I'm sure there's even more than just what Adrian and I have."

"That sounds amazing," I said with shock, trying to wrap my head around all of this.

They both nodded, "The possibilities are endless," Adrian said, shutting the door so we could continue our intense conversation.

**

* * *

I'm sorry about this chapter. I know it's not very good. It's kind of a filler, nothing really happened in it, but the next chapter is going to be full of action (which I'm bad at writing). I'll try my best to make it sound good, but I can't promise that it's going to be amazing. Please let me know what you think of all of this in a review!**


	6. The Fight

**I'm kind of disappointed with the amount of reviews I got for my last chapter. But I guess I can't expect much considering it wasn't very interesting. I'm gonna try my hardest to make this chapter interesting and exciting but I apologize if it turns out badly.**

* * *

"So he's really leaving?" Lissa asked, sounding slightly bummed.

"Apparently. I heard he took Tasha up on her offer and is leaving tomorrow," I replied, trying to hide my sadness as we walked to Christian's room.

I turned a corner and bumped right into someone, "Sorry, my ba-" I stopped as I looked up and saw who it was.

Mason just glared and pushed past me, still mad at me from before.

"Jeez, that was a little overdramatic," Lissa noted as Mason slammed his fist into the wall, leaving a noticeably large hole. I suppressed a giggle as his face filled with panic and he ran away from the horrid mess.

"I can't believe Dimitri isn't going to be my guardian. But then again, I'm sure they'll find me someone just as good," Lissa continued, as if Mason hadn't even came by us.

_Nobody is as good as Dimitri_, I thought to myself.

"Yeah, maybe even someone better," I lied smoothly, hoping she would believe it.

She nodded, contemplating who could possibly take Dimitri's spot.

I let Lissa greet Christian alone, and waited outside the door for them.

"Hey Rose, get out here!" One of the novices in my classes back at St. Vlads beckoned to me.

I ran outside onto the deck up to the group of novices gathering around.

I froze when I saw what they were all marveling over. All of the guardians on duty were scrambling around, running in different directions, panicking.

"What's going on?" I asked one of the juniors I normally don't talk to.

"I don't know," he murmured, looking like he was utterly shocked that I was talking to him, "Want to go hang with me in my bedroom," he whispered, wiggling his eyebrows suggestively.

I slapped him, sneering, "You perv!"

I turned away from the growing crowd and sprinted through the lodge until I reached the wing with all of the guardian's rooms. I pushed past the guardians until I was in the center of their pack. **(AN I'm not exactly sure where Rose was with her fighting and staking at this point, so I'm just going to do it as if she was able to stake and fight well.)**

"What's going on?" I asked Guardian Alto, following him as he walked quickly through the halls.

"Rose! Get out of here, this isn't a place for novices!" He ordered me, only half heartedly.

"Just tell me what's happening! I need to know!" I retaliated, following him closely into a room with some of the more experienced guardians.

"Strigoi are approaching, this is no time for games. I need you to get out of here before they make the announcement for everyone to go into safe rooms," he whispered, as if not everyone there knew what was happening.

"I want to help! You should let some of the novices help, we could be of good use to you!" I said much louder than he did. He pulled me aside, hoping none of the other guardians had heard me.

"That's not up to me to decide. If it was, you _would_ be helping, we need all the help we can get," he murmured, shaking his head slowly.

I grabbed Alberta's arm just as she walked past me, "Let me help, you know I can."

She shook off my grasp and turned to face me, "You need to be inside the building, safe, just like everyone else."

I ran in front of her and blocked her exit, "Stan said you needed help, let me help you."

She looked me over, seeming internally conflicted, but didn't push past me like I expected. "Alright, fine, you can go help patrol the East wing," she said, handing me a silver stake. I stared at it in awe, only having used practice stakes before.

I became serious and nodded at her orders, stepping aside to let her through. I followed her out the door, and we split to go our separate ways. I recalled where the East wing was, and realized with relief that it was the one that Lissa and Christian were currently in.

I knew at once why Alberta had sent me there. Right next to the wing, there was a door that led to the outside, in close contact to where the Strigoi could me lurking.

As soon as I got there, I saw that it had changed a lot since I left. Several guardians were stationed along the hallway, some outside, some inside.

I showed them my stake and told them Alberta's orders, and even though they looked like they didn't want to, moved me to a spot in front of Christian's room. I held back the relieved smile to know that I could know what's happening to Lissa at all times.

"Rose! Thank God you're okay! What's happening? They won't tell us," Lissa asked through the door.

"There are Strigoi in the lodge," I replied shortly, knowing it would freak her out.

"What? Strigoi? And they're locking us up in rooms and not letting us help?" Christian asked angrily, hitting the door hard and cursing.

I decided then that as long as they knew I was okay, we shouldn't be talking. I needed to be watching my area, just in case any Strigoi come through.

After several long, boring minutes, Christian silently came out of his door, standing beside me and making sure he wasn't seen by any of the other guardians.

"Christian! Get back in your room!" I whispered, standing in front of him so he wasn't as easily seen.

He shook his head defiantly, "If you're helping, then so am I," he whispered back.

I decided that the guardians here were fully able to protect and patrol the hall efficiently without me, and moved to go outside, hoping to help.

A strange sense of nausea came over me when I was about ten steps from the door that led to the outside, and I stopped abruptly, accidentally elbowing Christian in the stomach.

"What'd you do that for?" he whispered, clutching his stomach.

"Sorry, accident," I replied, creeping forward again. I opened the door and quickly closed it behind Christian, not wanting to create an easy access to Moroi.

I didn't have time to assess the situation, because a Strigoi lunged for the door, knocking me down in the process. I kicked him off of me, standing up and preparing for a fight.

He dove for me, but I dodged him easily, avoiding his hungry red eyes and cold, pale skin.

I made an attempt to stake him in the heart, but he moved away just before the stake connected. He howled in pain, seeing as I has slashed his face in the process.

An all-powerful stake full of life probably felt like acid to an undead Strigoi. He didn't lower his defenses, and dodged my next blow to the head. I feigned right and came in left with my stake, sliding it easily into his heart.

His red eyes widened in shock, and then he crumpled to the ground at my feet. I felt sick at the thought that I had just killed my first Strigoi, but it felt good to know that I was protecting another Moroi or Dhampir life by doing so.

"Nice job, Rose!" Christian complimented me, but then the next Strigoi lurched for him.

I pulled the blood-thirsty vampire off of him, and delivered a punch to his gut, feeling only partially satisfied when he stood back up with minimal pain. He lunged for me, fangs out, but was caught in a ball of flames.

He sliced his face, trying to extinguish the fire, but I leapt forward and staked him neatly. As soon as I staked him, the flames disappeared. I looked behind me to see Christian with a smug grin on his face, looking more tired than he was before.

I nodded him thanks, and looked around to fight the next Strigoi.

I saw one of the guardians struggling with three Strigois and staked the one nearest to me.

It fell to the ground and the guardian moved forward to finish off the other two he was dealing with.

Together, Christian and I defeated most of the Strigois in our area, only stopping when none were left.

While everyone regained some of their strength and caught their breath, I grabbed Christian by the arm and ran to the next wing, knowing that there were less guardians protecting it than necessary.

"Hey, wait kids, don't go there, you've done enough!" One of the more experienced guardians yelled to us. I ignored him and continued running to the next wing.

"Rose, wait!" Christian ordered, sounding out of breath. I looked back and realized that I was a lot faster than him and he was several feet behind me. I waited for him to catch up and matched his pace, making it a point to stay with him.

I threw the door open to the outside, accidentally letting a Strigoi into the building.

He cackled maniacally, pushing past me to get to Christian.

"Christian!" I yelled out, hoping he was ready for the Strigoi. He was.

The Strigoi lit up in flames, screaming out in pain as he started sinking to his knees. Not wanting Christian to use all his power on one Strigoi, I ran back to him and staked the Strigoi in one clean swipe.

The fire stopped at once, Christian falling to his knees as it did. I pulled my stake out of the dead Strigoi, and peered at Christian with concern. He started breathing really heavily, and he was starting to lose what color he had.

"Are you okay?" I asked, worrying that he was about to pass out.

He shook his head, crumpling up in a ball and holding himself as if he would explode if he didn't. I helped him get up to his feet and led him into one of the rooms. **(AN remember, they're still inside!)**

One of the patrolling guardians stared at Christian in surprise and asked me what had happened, "He's fine, just a little exhausted," I answered as I set him down on the bed of the empty room.

The nausea returned, making me feel like I was going to throw up for a second, but I shook it off and continued for the door.

The guardian tried to stop me, but I pushed past him and ran outside, hoping that there weren't too many Strigoi to fight off.

As soon as I stepped outside, I got clawed in the face, wincing as blood trickled down my cheek.

The Strigoi snarled at me, an evil grin destroying his face further. I pushed back the pain in my open cheek and leapt onto the Strigoi. He fell under my weight, but pushed me off of him in disgust before I could do much.

I leapt up, adrenaline coursing my veins yet again as I dodged a swipe and roundhouse kicked the Strigoi in the side of the head.

Without Christian, I took a few heavy blows, but I still managed to stake the Strigoi, not watching as he fell to the ground.

I looked around me and saw with horror that there were half as many guardians here as there were on the other deck, and twice as many Strigoi.

Here, a few novices were fighting alongside the guardians, some struggling more than others. I noticed with relief that Mason was among these novices, looking like he was fine, except for a few minor cuts and bruises.

The Strigoi he was fighting was on the offensive, shoving Mason against a wall and baring his fangs to bite him. I lunged forward and staked the Strigoi from the side, saving Mason right before the fangs made contact with his neck.

Mason looked up at me in thanks, relieved that he was still alive. I knew that he couldn't say anything right now, so I stood next to him, ready to take on the next Strigoi.

Mason and I fought side by side, destroying many Strigois together, some taking longer than others.

I pulled my stake out of the last Strigoi I stabbed, ready to fight the next one, but slowed down when I saw that there wasn't a next one.

I allowed myself a glance at Mason, making sure that he was okay. As soon as I looked at him, I saw that he was doing the same thing. Our eyes met for a moment, making it seem like we were the only two people on this deck, but I knew that wasn't true, so I tore my gaze away from him to assess the situation before us.

I looked at the ground and noted in horror that Strigoi bodies weren't the only bodies littering the ground.

I remembered Christian and left all of the worn out guardians to make sure he was okay.

I vaguely noticed out of the corner of my eye that Mason was following me, but I brushed it off, barging into the room that I left Christian in.

He was sound asleep when I ran in, my heart racing twice as fast as it normally does. I took a deep breath, relieving some of my panting as I saw that he was fine.

I thanked the couple whose room it was, and left the room to try and find Lissa. I searched the bond and saw that she alive, so with a grin, I sprinted to Christian's room.

I threw the door open and saw her nervously pacing back and forth, stopping when I entered, and rushing forward to pull me into a bone-crushing hug.

When she let go, she looked next to me and only saw Mason. Her eyes widened, "Where's Christian?" She whispered, almost inaudibly.

"He's fine. He's just a little tired, so I left him in a room to sleep while I fought more Strigoi," I said as relief washed over her features.

"What happened to your cheek?" She asked with concern, as she reached up to touch it. I winced at her touch, pulling back as the pain returned to my throbbing cheek.

I shrugged it off like it was nothing, "I got cut, that's it. But I'm fine," I said quickly, knowing that she would see through it and know that I was in pain.

"Rose," she warned, finding first aid.

"I'm fine," I said firmly, hoping that she would listen to me and just drop it.

She nodded once, "You'll go to the nurse later, but right now I need to go get Christian."

I told her where to find him, and she left me alone with Mason. We stood there for a few awkward seconds, until I couldn't take it anymore.

"I'm sorry!" We both said at the same time, then grinned at each other.

"I'm the one who should be saying sorry. I shouldn't have gone into that room with Dimitri," I said, slowly stepping closer to him.

"I know, but I'm sorry I overreacted," he replied, matching my stride and minimizing the space between us.

I shook my head, "You shouldn't be apologizing, you didn't do anything wrong," I took another step closer, wrapping my arms around his neck.

He smiled and put his around my waist, drawing me closer, "You're so beautiful, Rose."

I smiled back, closing the space between us to bring my lips to his. He pulled me even closer, tilting his head to deepen the kiss.

I tugged him by his shirt onto the bed, hoping that Lissa would stay out. He hovered over me, his hands roaming my body as he kissed me passionately.

I craved his touch, so I pulled him down lower keeping my hand on the small of his back to keep him down.

"Woah there tiger," I felt his lips turn up in a smirk.

"Just shut up and kiss me," I ordered, returning his smirk.

"Whatever you say, babe," he grinned at me as he slipped his tongue into my mouth. I pushed myself up so I could press my mouth more onto his.

I slid my hand up his shirt, realizing how much I missed his toned muscles. I allowed myself to run my hand over his pecks, then moving down to squeeze his abs.

He grinned again, as I found the bottom of his shirt and gently tugging it over his head. He helped me and threw it off the bed.

The door opened, but Mason didn't stop kissing me.

"Why do you have to be doing this in _my_ bed?" Christian asked, sounding annoyed.

I gently pushed Mason away. He got the hint and climbed off of me, looking around for his shirt.

Lissa giggled, "I guess you guys are back together then."

"I guess so," I watched Mason as he covered up his chest and slipped his shirt on.

"We'll see you guys later," Mason said, snaking his arm around my waist and pulling me out of Christian's room.

Both Lissa and Christian called out their goodbyes, but as soon as we left, they left off where we were, making out on the bed.

I looked at Mason and frowned. He noticed my frown and asked, "What?"

"I like you much better with your shirt _off_," I said to him, shaking my head slightly.

He chuckled, "Well, we'll see what we can do when we get back to my room," he pulled me closer to him and kissed the top of my head.

"Ms. Hathaway, Mr. Ashford!" Dimitri called as he stormed up to us.

"What?" Mason and I answered at the same time.

"You were both given orders today to stay indoors at all times. Both of you went outside and engaged in fights with Strigoi," he barked, sounding displeased.

"Yes we did, and I know what you're going to say," I answered him, surprising him.

Dimitri raised his eyebrows, "Oh really? And what do you think I'm going to say?"

"That it was a very stupid thing to do and that we could have gotten ourselves killed," I answered with a fierce glare towards him.

His lips turned up in an amused half-smile, "I was actually going to say that what you did was amazing."

Mason and I looked at him in disbelief, "What?!?" We said at the same time.

"Half of the Strigoi killed in the two decks you participated in were your kills. Especially you Rose. After defeating many Strigoi with Mr. Ozera, you continued on to another deck and killed more with Mason. It was very impressive."

I blushed a little, knowing that a compliment like that was rarely given out, "Thank you."

"Your welcome. Both of you did an excellent job. These are yours," he pulled two stakes out of his bag and handed them to each of us.

Mason and I grinned at each other, looking over our stakes with great interest. I twisted mine in my hands, rubbing my fingers over the design. Engraved on the handle was "Guardian Hathaway".

"Of course, you're going to need to get the magic put in them, but it's a start," Dimitri explained, watching us as we examined our new stakes.

I reached into my purse and pulled out the stake that Alberta had given to me and handed it to Dimitri, "This isn't mine."

His eyes flashed in recognition and he took the stake and placed it gently in his backpack, "I'll leave you two alone now. I just want to say I'm sorry for breaking you up, and I'm glad you're back together."

I could tell that Dimitri was lying through his teeth, and that it was hard for him to do, so I said, "Thank you."

He nodded to me and left us alone again, continuing on to wherever he was headed in the first place.

"These things are really cool!" Mason exclaimed, putting his stake in his pocket.

I nodded in agreement, put mine away, then snatched his hand, intertwining my fingers with his.

He smiled at me and kissed my cheek. I smiled back as he let go of my hand and put his arm around my waist again.

"I like your waist," he grinned at me, turning me to press against him. I breathed in his scent, enjoying the smell of some sort of sweet cologne.

I reached up to kiss him quickly on the lips, leaning back before he could kiss me again. I rested my head on his chest, hugging him tightly.

"I love you, Rose," he said softly, kissing the top of my head.

"I love you too," I said back, squeezing him to me tightly.

When we finally let go, he grabbed my hand and we walked away, happy and content.

**

* * *

And now I stop! There are 8 pages of writing right here!! It's not the longest chapter word wise that I've ever written, but it's the most amount of pages! I hope it's what you expected it to be. They will probably be leaving the loft soon, only because I can do more things at their school. But review please!**


	7. Me Too?

**Thank you for all the reviews I got! This next chapter takes place 2 days after chapter 6. I'm making up how they get the tattoos and the ceremony, so don't be mad if it's not perfect.**

* * *

"Come on, Liss, we're going to be late!" I called out to my roommate as she finished up her make-up.

"Alright, alright, I'm coming!" She hollered back, appearing in front of me and starting towards the door.

"Let's go," I said, grabbing my purse and walking out our door.

"I heard they're making you and everyone else who fought the Strigoi go to therapy, is that true?" She asked, taking a few awkward steps to catch up to me.

I slowed down to match her pace, "Ugh, yes, I totally forgot about that. I have it today at four," I groaned.

"Is anyone else going to be there at the same time?" She asked, fixing her hair as we walked towards the end of the hall. This particular hallway was full of students all either going to watch the ceremony or be in it. We were going to be getting our _molnija_ marks.

I remembered her question and turned my head to look at her, "I think they're making Christian, Mason, and me all go at the same time 'cause we're the only students who fought actual groups of Strigoi. They said we were gonna separate eventually, but for now they want us together," I shrugged as we stepped outside into the cold night air.

I shivered a little as my body adjusted to the change in temperature as we walked to the bus in silence. Kirova decided that it would be best to put us in groups and shove us all on busses.

"Hey Lissa," Christian greeted her as he gave her a swift kiss before taking her hand and climbing the steps of the bus. "Rose," he nodded to me over his shoulder as I found Mason sitting in a seat alone.

"Hey," I murmured back to him, stepping onto the bus behind them.

I left Christian and Lissa alone and walked to the back of the bus. When I reached Mason, he was turned around talking to one of the other novices. I grinned and kissed his cheek, then sat down next to him.

He turned around immediately, a curious look on his face, which left when he saw me.

"Hey Rose!" Mason grinned, pressing his warm lips to my cheek. He turned around so his back was on the seat and threw his arm casually over my shoulders, pulling me closer to him.

He looked me up and down and grinned again, "You look beautiful," he whispered, his lips brushing my ear.

I blushed and took him in for the first time. He was wearing a black suit with a dark green tie, that seemed to bring out his eyes, and his red hair was all over the place.

"You don't look too bad yourself," I grinned seductively at him, which made his smile only widen.

"Well thanks," he whispered, turning my head towards him to kiss me. I heard a throat clear from behind us and looked up to see the novice Mason was talking to laughing.

I pulled back after a moment, not wanting to get too far, "So how long is this bus ride supposed to be?"

He thought for a second as the bus started moving, "They said like two hours, but you never know," he shrugged, kissing my forehead sweetly.

"You excited?" I murmured, snuggling into his chest and relaxing.

"Yeah," he breathed, intoxicating me in his minty breath.

I smiled, content with my life for once, "Me too."

{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}

We arrived three hours later at the Morsani Grand Hall. The Guardians surrounded us and kept us enclosed in a circle.

I looked up at where the ceremony was taking place and my eyes widened in awe. It was gorgeous. All the walls were painted an elegant crème color. The ceilings were about 300 feet in the air, with a large chandelier dangling in the middle. All up the walls there were little designs of pictures of dhampirs fighting Strigoi, while their Moroi stood behind them and watched.

In front of us was hundreds and hundreds of seats in a circle, surrounding a small area in the middle that had a special chair and a table with a bunch of foreign tools on it. It appeared to be where each dhampir involved in the battle would be receiving their battle mark.

I couldn't help but rub my fingers along the smooth skin of my neck, knowing that I would have a tattoo etched into it soon.

I could sense Mason nervously looking around, his eyes resting on the needles on the table in the middle of the room.

"You okay?" I whispered softly, studying his expression.

He nodded briefly, "I'm fine," he put up a fake grin and squeezed my hand reassuringly.

"It's okay to be nervous, you know," I pointed out, making sure that nobody else heard us.

He dropped his smile, "I admit it, I am a _little_ nervous. I just don't like needles," he muttered quietly.

I gave him a sad smile, "That's perfectly fine. You don't have to," I grinned and pecked his cheek.

He beamed, looking relieved that I didn't expect him to always be fearless.

"Rose isn't this place amazing?" Lissa squealed, squeezing my arm as she grinned at me.

I tore away from Mason's gaze and turned to face her. I grinned back, "Yes! I can't believe we get to actually get our tattoos _here_!" I giggled, excited for what was going to come.

Christian rolled his eyes, "Girls," he shook his head at us.

Mason nodded in agreement, "Always giggling."

We were all shushed and Mason and I were pulled into the seats in the front next to the guardians. I hesitantly sat down, suddenly nervous for the ceremony.

Mason slipped his hand into mine. I looked up at him and saw the cold determination shining in his emerald-colored eyes.

I leaned over to my other side, where Guardian Stan Alto was sitting and asked, "Who's that?" pointing towards the man dressed in all white in the middle of the room.

He leaned to me and replied, "That's the priest, he's going to be delivering the ceremony and etching the tattoos onto our necks."

I glanced over at Stan's neck and saw that he had about seven or eight _molnija_ marks. His hair was cut off his neck so his marks were on full display.

I nodded at him, saying that I understood and turned to face the man in front of us.

"Welcome everyone!" The priest shouted into the microphone. The whole room fell silent as soon as he said the first word.

"I'm very pleased to be here leading this ceremony. For those of you who don't know me, I'll explain a little about myself. I have been tattooing guardian's necks for over thirty years. I've even done a few of the guardians here," he paused, letting the words sink in as I thought back to Stan's tattooed neck.

"This is a very special occasion," he continued. "We were cursed with hundreds of evil Strigoi. Luckily, some extremeley brave guardians helped wipe out the wave of the undead. We even had a few novices helping out," he smiled, his eyes crinkling, as he looked at Mason and me.

He continued on, talking about how blessed we were to have so many strong men and women protecting all of us from the evils of the world.

My mind flitted back to Christian, wondering if he was going to be getting the battle mark too. I had never seen a Moroi with any _molnija_ marks. But then again, before Christian and his aunt, no Moroi had even tried using offensive magic.

{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}

"Rosemarie Hathaway," the priest said softly, taking his spot behind the chair as he waited for me to sit down.

I glanced at Mason for a second, and he smiled warmly at me, pointing to his neck to show me the bandage covering his tattoo.

I stood up and walked to the chair. The mere five steps it took from my seat to the tattoo chair seemed endless. I tried my hardest to keep my eyes on the chair, but I could feel everyone's eyes boring holes into me.

I sat down, aware that a needle was about to be pressed into my neck. The priest pulled my hair up onto my head and held it there with a shower cap. I tried to relax, taking deep breaths to try and calm down my racing heart.

I winced when I felt the first touch of a needle on my neck. I clenched my teeth and concentrated on Mason's smiling face and tried to forget the stinging pain on the back of my neck.

"All done," the priest smiled at me, showing me what my tattoo looked like before bandaging it. I grinned, glad that it was over and examined the star etched onto my skin.

"Thank you," I nodded to him, stood up from the chair and sat back down next to Mason, feeling him squeeze my hand.

"You did great," he breathed, his lips brushing my ear, sending a warm shiver down my spine.

I beamed at him, feeling proud of myself, "Thanks."

{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}

"Christian Ozera," the priest called, looking out into the audience to spot Christian.

I looked back and saw Christian hesitantly standing up, a confused look on his face. He pushed through all the people and made it to the front, walking directly to the priest.

He whispered something to the priest, and the priest responded. It was too quiet for me to hear anything but I assumed Christian was asking why he was called up, because Moroi didn't receive _molnija_ marks.

Christian sat down in the chair and the priest did the same exact thing he did for every dhampir in the chair. He took out his needle and went to work.

I looked around at the large audience and gauged their reactions. Some of the people in the crowd looked angry, while others just looked extremely surprised.

I myself was very surprised, as I didn't think Christian would be receiving a mark.

{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}

We finally finished the ceremony, and we were allowed to get back on the bus to return to the lodge.

"I can't believe they gave me a mark," Christian muttered, still not able to get over it.

"Well you deserve it. You killed Strigoi just like all those dhampirs," Lissa pointed out, reaching out to him to hold his hand.

He snatched her hand and continued to walk with us, "I guess so. But they never give marks to Moroi. It's just not something they do," he shrugged.

"That's because no Moroi has ever killed any Strigoi before," I said, walking next to Lissa.

"That's true," Christian murmured, reaching back to itch his neck.

I stepped onto the first steep step to get onto the bus. I slipped and fell onto Jesse Zeklos. He caught me smoothly and grinned flirtatiously at me.

"Ugh," I muttered, disgusted. I tried to push him away, but he just tightened his grip on me.

"Where do you think you're going, Rose?" Jesse muttered, pulling me away from the bus and yanking my head to his for a kiss.

"Get off me you creep!" I yelled, kicking him hard in the stomach and punching his head.

"Ow!" Jesse groaned, as I ran away from him and onto the bus.

I sat down next to Mason, panting loudly and loooking out the window at Jesse stumbling away, holding his bloody nose.

"What happened to you? One minute you were behind me and the next minute you were gone," Mason asked, furrowing his brow as he looked me up and down.

"I slipped on the stairs and Jesse caught me. He pulled me away and tried to kiss me," I breathed, grossed out again.

Mason's face turned as hard as stone, "Excuse me," he muttered through clenched teeth. He stood up and walked past me, his face turning red with anger.

I watched Mason as he made his way to where Jesse sat alone, still moaning over his nose. I felt some sort of sick pleasure at that sight.

Mason sat down next to Jesse, and looked as though he was talking to him. After a few minutes of Mason talking and Jesse arguing back, Mason stood up, came back over to me, and sat down.

I looked at him questioningly. After a few seconds I asked, "Well?"

He finally looked at me, a fake smile on his face, "I talked to him. And I said we would finish talking when we got back to the lodge," the smile had disappeared from his face and was replaced by a menacing scowl, his lip quivering slightly as he didn't look at me.

I sighed and reached out to him. I stroked his arm softly, waiting until he met my gaze. When he finally did, I murmured, "You don't have to beat him up, I already did."

He forced a small smile, but shook his head, "No, I need to show him that he can't touch you whenever he feels like it."

I sighed again, "If you really need to. But I would much rather you just stay with me," I murmured, sitting up straight to kiss him softly on the cheek.

"I do really need to," he said weakly, turning his body to face me. He snaked an arm around my waist and pulled me closer to him, protecting me from everyone else.

Screeeeeeeeech! The bus halted to a stop when it smashed into the car in front of us.

The bus erupted in screams and chaos. I stood up immediately and scanned the bus for Lissa, not wanting to see her hurt.

"Oh no!"

**

* * *

Sorry for this crappy ending, I just really needed to finish it. I'm so so so so so so so soooooo sorry that it took me this long to write this! I was almost done, but then I couldn't put it up 'cause I was going to Washington DC and I didn't have access to decent Internet. I understand if you don't want to read it, but let me know what you think of it if you do actually read it. My next chapter won't take this long, I promise!**


	8. Goodbye Forever

**Thanks for the reviews I got guys! I'm going to try and get this chapter out quickly.**

_

* * *

Screeeeeeeeech! The bus halted to a stop when it smashed into the car in front of us._

_The bus erupted in screams and chaos. I stood up immediately and scanned the bus for Lissa, not wanting to see her hurt._

"_Oh no!"_ I screamed, pushing people out of the way to get to the front of the bus.

"Rose, wait!" Mason yelled, trying to catch up with me.

I ignored him and kept pushing until I reached where Lissa was laying on the floor.

"Oh my God! What happened?" I asked the bus driver loudly, trying to tune out the rest of the panicking students.

He looked helplessly at the students around him, not knowing what happened.

"She was standing up, trying to get something, and we crashed and her head flew into the seat, knocking her out," Christian replied, moving his hand away from Lissa's head to show me the blood that was pouring out of it.

I gasped, feeling myself getting a little sick at the sight in front of me. All around me, the bus was clearing out, leaving only Mason, Christian, Lissa, the bus driver, the emergency technician and me in the bus alone.

I felt tears begin to flow from my eyes, sliding down my face and wetting my jacket. I sunk back and lost some of my consciousness as people were milling back and forth around me.

I barely noticed when they took Lissa out of the bus and moved her to the ambulance waiting impatiently outside.

Somewhere in the back of my mind, I felt Mason pulling me to my feet and dragging me out of the bus.

"Rose?" Mason asked over and over again, shaking me back and forth. I finally came out of my trance after about the twentieth time he called me.

"What?" I asked softly, hoping that he would just leave me alone to wallow in my pity.

"Are you okay?" he asked tentatively, unsure to how I would respond.

"Do I seem okay?" I answered solemnly, not even looking at him.

"Do you need me to help you pack?" He asked, grabbing me when I began to drop to the ground.

"Pack?" I asked, confused as to why I would be packing.

He nodded, his brow furrowing in confusion, "We're leaving tonight. After we pack. Remember?"

I didn't remember hearing about that, but I nodded anyway, "If you don't mind. . ." I trailed off, already knowing what he was going to say.

"Of course I don't," he cut me off sharply, pulling me to the direction of his room. I glanced around, wondering why we weren't going to my room.

"Where are we going?" I asked, steadying myself right before I fell again. Mason tightened his grip around my waist, practically picking me up in his attempt to take control.

"I need to pack first. Then we can go to your room, pack and then hang out a little. What do you say?" He asked, fishing around in his pocket for his key.

I nodded, starting to understand what he was implying. He opened the door to an empty room. He glanced around for a few seconds, but then shrugged, acting like he didn't care.

"No Shane?" I asked, looking around for evidence that he was here.

Mason shook his head, "He must be at his new girlfriend's room," he half-smiled at the thought.

"Hey guys!" Eddie called as he busted the door open. Mia came in after him, not making nearly as large of a spectacle.

"Eddie, Mia," Mason nodded to both of them, before he started throwing things onto his bed.

"Hey," I said to them, getting a nod and small smile from Mia and a big bear hug from Eddie.

"Rose, I haven't seen you since I refused to go skiing with you after you cheated on little Mason here," Eddie grinned, teasing me.

I felt a pang of guilt, all of the memories of what I did to Mason flooding to the surface again.

Mason must have seen the look on my face, because he punched Eddie in the gut, followed by a menacing glare.

Eddie raised his hands, saying that he didn't do anything, and Mia rolled her eyes.

"How's Lissa?" Mia turned her attention to me, trying to clear up some of the awkwardness the boys had just created.

I shrugged, "She's in the hospital right now. Last I saw her she was knocked out."

Mia drew in a sharp breath, and covered her mouth with one hand, her eyes growing huge in genuine horror.

"Will she be okay?" Mia asked, grabbing onto Eddie's arm.

I looked down at my feet, not wanting to tell her what I thought.

Mason looked at me for a second then said to Mia, "She'll be fine. Maybe a little bruised up, but nothing serious," he reached out for me, ready to comfort me if I needed it.

I looked at him skeptically, and he gave me a reassuring smile in return.

All of a sudden, I was thrown into Lissa's head, overwhelmed by her emotions.

"Liss you're going to be alright," Christian whispered from some far away place. Pain. That's all I felt, I felt like I was going to die.

I sensed that Lissa wanted to reach out to him, but couldn't move her arm high enough because she was too weak. I concentrated on her arm, and ever so slowly, it moved up to reach for Christian.

He took hold of her hand, squeezing it a little too hard. His face was even paler then usual, his lip was quivering slightly, and his hair looked like someone had been shoving their fingers through it.

Lissa was on a gurney, probably moving to a room. We passed by a mirror, and I was able to see what Lissa looked like.

I was horrified the second I saw her. Her head was all wrapped up, she was extremely pale, and one of her legs was turned in a wrong direction. I internally winced, knowing that it was broken.

I had seen enough, I tried to pull out of her head, but the pain was so strong, it kept me in there. I concentrated on Mason, Eddie and Mia, hoping that I would return to my own body.

I felt Lissa's emotions fading into a lull, giving me enough time to return to my own body as she lost consciousness again.

"Rose?" Mason asked anxiously, leaning down to look at my face. I drifted back into my own body and realized that my head was in Mason's lap.

"Sh- She's rea-really hurt," I stuttered, trembling with the strong emotions. I had an urge to hold my head, like it was hurt too.

I subconsciously curled into a ball, still feeling the weight of Lissa's pain in the back of my head.

"Mason, Mia and I have to go pack, I'll catch you later," Eddie said, patting Mason on the back.

He turned to me, "Feel better, Rose. And tell Lissa the same," he paused for a second, and then leaned down to kiss my cheek.

"Bye guys," Mia waved, a small smile on her face as she left with Eddie.

Mason and I sat in silence for a few minutes, until he stood up and started moving things around.

I frowned, watching him move back and forth, "What are you doing?"

He stopped moving, then turned to look at me, "I need to pack."

I felt my cheeks burn when the stupidity of what I just asked hit me.

"Oh, yeah I forgot again," I mumbled, my cheeks turning bright red.

He grinned at me, "That's fine," he walked over to me in three swift steps and planted a kiss on my cheek.

I couldn't help it, I smiled back.

"Now there's my girl!" his grin widened, and in response, I threw a pillow at him.

"Hey! What was that for?" he asked jokingly, grabbing the pillow and chucking it at me. It hit me in the head and messed up my hair.

He laughed, turning back around to keep packing. I smiled smugly, sneaking up behind him and jumping on his back.

He stumbled, groaning as my weight pulled him down to the floor. I climbed on top of him, pinning his arms down.

He sighed in defeat, a happy smile lighting up his face.

"Are you gonna let me up?" he asked, struggling to flip me over.

I shook my head and leaned down to kiss him. I felt him relax and kiss me back. I loosened my grip on his arms.

He took the opportunity and flipped us over, grinning triumphantly as he pinned me down.

I made a face at him, "That wasn't fair," I stated, pouting and hoping he would lose focus and let go.

It didn't work. He just tightened his grip on my wrists and hovered above me, close enough to make the space intimate, but not close enough to squish me under his weight.

He let go of my wrists, stroking my hair with one of this hands and staring at me lovingly.

I made no attempt to wrestle him again, I was perfectly happy with the position we were in. He noticed this and smiled sweetly, his green eyes twinkling with happiness.

"I love you, Rose," he whispered, bringing his lips to my forehead and planting a long kiss.

I felt my lips turn up in a smile as I whispered back, "I love you too, Mason."

He smiled a far away smile, like he was in a dream, and kissed me. It started out sweet and innocent, but then grew to something more hungry and lusty.

He picked me up bridal style and placed me down on his bed, jumping on top of me and connecting our lips again.

He took his jacket off and threw it off the bed. Then, I yanked his tie off of him and threw it where his jacket had landed. Mason finished the transformation by pulling his shirt over his head to reveal his white undershirt. He added his dress shirt to the pile of clothes, and then continued kissing me.

I felt his hand start to move up my leg, starting on my calf and ascending to my thigh, continuing up my dress and then stopping suddenly.

He froze, pulling his lips away from mine and sitting up abruptly, his brow furrowing in concentration.

"What is-" he cut me off with one hand, listening intently. I followed his lead and listened too, then finally heard what he was hearing.

Someone was coming to the room. I looked around the trashed room; from the pillows thrown everywhere to the half-packed bag, this room looked like it had exploded.

My eyes widened when I remembered about packing, and I subconsciously gasped.

Just as I did, there was a slight knock on the door. I looked at Mason for help, but he just shrugged and got off of me to go open the door. I sat up and fixed my hair and smoothed my dress, hoping to look like nothing had happened.

I sat in Mason's desk chair and peered around him to watch him open the door. When he finally yanked the door open, I was surprised at our unexpected visiter.

"Hey little dhampir," Adrian Ivashkov grinned at me, showing off his teeth, but not his fangs.

My mouth dropped in surprise, "What are you doing here?" I asked, closing my mouth quickly.

He smiled smugly, sensing my discomfort, "The question is: what are _you_ doing here? You know you're not supposed to be in any male's room," he glanced around the room, taking in the scene before him and immediately jumped to conclusions.

"It's not what you think," I started, knowing that what he was thinking was probably exactly right.

"It's not?" he asked, the smug smile still spread across his face.

"No, it's not. He was going to help me pack after he was done," I crossed my arms in front of my chest, feeling Lissa's emotions through the bond.

Adrian looked at me from head to toe, admiring every part of my body. I cleared my throat and he looked up at my face.

"You look gorgeous tonight, Rose. Of course, you always do, but tonight you look especially beautiful," he smiled a sincere smile that had the possibility of making my heart melt, but Mason ruined the moment before I could react.

"Excuse me," Mason stated firmly, catching Adrian's attention, "This is my girlfriend you are talking to, and I will hurt you if you try anything at all," he growled the last part, his protectiveness showing through.

Adrian raised his hands in surrender, "Okay, okay. I wasn't going to do anything anyway," he said to Mason. Then he turned to me, "I'll talk to you later," then he winked at me, which sent Mason charging right up to him.

I knew at once what Adrian meant when he said he would talk to me later, but Mason took it the wrong way and jumped on him.

I quickly leapt into fighting mode, standing between them before Adrian got hurt.

"You will go out of this room and nev-" I cut Adrian off by whacking him in the chest, causing him to lose his focus on his compulsion and stagger backwards.

"How dare you use compulsion on my boyfriend!" I bellowed, jabbing him in the chest as I opened the door for him to leave.

"Rose-" he started, but I cut him off again.

"I don't want to hear it," I said through clenched teeth, then jerked my thumb to the door. "Now leave us in peace so we can finish packing."

He smirked at me, "Yeah, I'm sure you can't wait to get back to 'packing'," he made air quotes around the word packing, obviously implying that we weren't going to be packing.

I sneered at him, disgusted by his dirty mind, "Good bye, Adrian," I said, closing the door on his still smirking face.

I walked back to where Mason was sitting on the bed and kissed him quickly. Adrian's little visit had killed the emotions I had previously felt, and I just wanted to pack now.

I could tell that Mason felt the same way I did, and wrapped his arms around my waist, resting his head on top of mine.

"You ready to continue packing?" he asked, hugging me to him.

"Yeah," I murmured, pulling away from him and helping him clean up his room.

{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}

After a long hour of cleaning his room and helping Mason pack up his stuff, we trekked out to my room so he could help me with my packing.

I opened my door to find my room exactly how I left it. Except there was an eerie presence about it. It felt like someone had been here.

Mason was talking to me, but by this point, I wasn't listening anymore.

"Hey I'll be right back," I said to Mason as I left the room. I didn't wait for a response, I knew he wasn't going to stop me.

I turned the corner at the end of the hallway and tripped over something on the ground. I fell to the floor and was immediately grabbed.

My fighting instincts kicked in and I punched my kidnapper in the face. I looked up at who it was and was shocked to see him.

"Hello, Rose," he said, his words thick with his Russian accent.

"Dimitri? What are you doing here?" I asked, sitting to face him. He was sitting on the ground, rubbing his now blackening eye.

"I'm in a little bit of pain right now," he smiled at me, showing off his eye.

I felt guilt course through me, "Yeah, sorry about that."

He shrugged, "I'll get over it."

I nodded, "So why are you back? I thought you took Tasha up on her offer and left," I grimaced at this, even though I was totally into Mason.

"I did. Then I realized I never said bye to you. So I came back," he offered, giving me a warm smile.

I thought this over, wondering if I wanted him back here. I certainly didn't want a repeat of before. I shivered, feeling embarrassed again.

He saw this and understood it immediately, catching on to what I was thinking.

We sat there awkwardly for another moment, until we both stood up. He moved towards me and wrapped his arms around me, encircling me in a hug. He kissed the top of my head and we just stood there for awhile.

"Goodbye, my Roza," he murmured, using my Russian nickname.

"Bye, Dimitri," I said back, squeezing him tightly to me.

**

* * *

Sorry for the ending, I'm going somewhere tonight and I wanted to get this out. Who else read Spirit Bound? I did! And it was great except for that cliff hanger of an ending. Well anyway, please review!**


	9. Too Long of a Day

**I didn't really get that many reviews, but I guess that's alright. It wasn't a very good chapter.**

_

* * *

"Goodbye, my Roza," he murmured, using my Russian nickname._

_"Bye, Dimitri," I said back, squeezing him tightly to me._

We stood there for a long time, clinging to each other in an attempt to cope with our strong feelings. When we finally broke apart, Dimitri leaned down and kissed me.

I knew it would be the last kiss we would ever share, and it was obvious that Dimitri knew this too. We both poured our hearts into the kiss, letting go of all that love.

"I'll never forget you, Rose. Just know that this is what's best for you," Dimitri whispered when we broke apart.

I took him in for the first time, trying to memorize his image before he left for good. His hair was tied back into a loose ponytail, his _molnija_ marks barely visible under his thick brown hair. The piercing look on his face showed who he was as a person: strong and secretive.

He was wearing the traditional guardian black. I had to crane my neck to look up at his face, because he was so tall.

"I know Dimitri. I'll always remember you as more than just my mentor. You were my first love," I replied staring into his eyes, watching as emotions passed through them.

We stood there staring at each other for what felt like forever. In reality, it was probably only a couple of minutes. Dimitri nodded at me, turned around, and walked away.

I watched him the whole way, only returning to Mason after Dimitri had turned the corner and disappeared from sight.

"There you are," Mason smiled at me, looking genuinely happy to see me.

I swallowed my feelings about Dimitri and smiled back, moving towards Mason to pack up my bag.

{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}

After packing up and making sure my side of my room was spotless, Mason and I headed to our joint counseling session about the Strigoi attack.

I searched the bond to see if Christian was still with Lissa, but didn't sense his presence. I shrugged, _he'd show up if he wanted to_, I thought to myself.

We walked around the lodge, trying to find the room that it was in. Finally we found the right room and knocked lightly before we entered.

"Ah, you must be Rosemarie Hathaway and Mason Ashford, I presume?" the therapist asked, spinning around in her chair.

"Yes ma'am," I replied, extending my hand out to her. Mason nodded next to me.

"I'm Dr. Rachel, I will be counseling you through your tough times," she smiled at me and stood up to shake my hand, then Mason's.

Dr. Rachel was a young Moroi, probably in her mid-twenties. She had a pretty face, with light brown eyes and medium-length blonde hair tied into a ponytail. She had the signature Moroi pale skin and slender build.

She was a few inches taller than Mason, and was dressed in a professional navy blue pinstripe suit. She smiled eagerly at Mason and I, waiting for us to continue.

Her smile faltered, as her brow furrowed in confusion.

"Where is Christian Ozera?" she asked us, walking past us to see if he was waiting outside. She disappeared through the door, walking around the lodge to see if she could find him.

Mason and I sat down in silence, waiting for her to return.

She came back, looking displeased, but sat down anyway, "Even though he is not here yet, we will need to begin anyway," her face looked a little flushed, but she forced a smile.

"I'm here!" Christian bursted into the room, his face red and his breathing staggered. He slowed his breathing and sat down in the chair next to me.

"Hey Rose, Mason," he nodded to each of us before looking towards Dr. Rachel.

"Are you Christian Ozera?" she asked him, studying his current state.

He nodded, and she introduced herself again, shaking his hand.

"Alright, now all of you should know why you're here. But I want you to just relax and forget the fact that you're in a shrink's room," she grinned at us, making me feel at ease and relax in my seat. I hadn't even noticed that I was tensed up.

"That's a little better, huh?" She asked, still grinning, "I decided to bring the three of you here together because you are all still in school and I decided it would be best to have some moral support from your peers."

"Are you like a normal shrink?" Christian asked, wrinkling his nose at the thought.

Dr. Rachel laughed, "I don't think you would call me normal, but I still am a shrink. I would like each of you to describe your experiences during this attack. Don't be afraid to go into full detail."

She turned towards Mason first, starting on the left.

He took the clue and started his long tale like so, "Okay, well I decided to be a rebel and run outside to join the front line..."

{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}

After half an hour of a fully detailed explanation, Dr. Rachel turned towards me for my story.

"Rose, would you like to share your version of the attack with us?" She asked sweetly.

I shrugged, "I guess I kind of have to. Well like Mason said, I also went against my orders, something a dhampir isn't supposed to do, and left my post inside to help the guardians outside," I began.

"From there, Christian and I went on a killing spree and worked together to kill a lot of Strigoi. After the deck we were on was emptied, I continued on to help Mason in the next deck over," I said quickly, not bothering to go into details.

"And how many Strigoi did you kill?" Dr. Rachel asked, looking very interested in what I did.

I shrugged, "I'm not sure. At least 12."

Her eyes widened, "That's extremely impressive, especially for a novice as young as yourself. How old are you Ms. Hathaway?"

"16," I answered, feeling a proud smile try to show through.

She looked impressed, "Wow," she breathed, then turned to Christian, "And how about you?"

Christian looked up at her, looking bored and annoyed, "Rose pretty much said what I did," he answered quickly.

"But I want to hear how it felt in your own words," she answered, her smile fading.

Christian groaned, "I didn't want to stay in the room with my girlfriend feeling helpless, so I left with Rose and went outside. I lit people on fire and then she staked them. I killed one of the Strigoi on my own, then I got tired and had to stay in a room while she kept going," he paused, "There you go, that's my story in a nutshell."

The therapist nodded, "That's a good start. I'm just wondering, did you receive a battle mark as well?"

Christian nodded, turning around in his seat to show her the bandage covering the tattoo on the back of his neck.

"You three are a very interesting bunch. Unfortunately, our time for today has ended. I will be joining you on your way back to St. Vladamir's Academy and I will be staying there until the end of the school year," she summed up, standing up to escort us to the door.

"Thank you for your time," I said politely, not feeling very different than how I did when I came in.

She nodded, bringing us to the door and saying her goodbyes.

As soon as the door closed Mason said, "Well that was helpful," in a sarcastic tone.

Christian snorted, "No it wasn't. It was useless," he retorted, obviously not noticing the hint of sarcasm in Mason's voice.

I rolled my eyes, "It'll get better," I said, shaking my head as we walked together to the outside of the lodge where the bus was waiting for us.

"I don't think so. I can't touch you when we're in there," Mason muttered, grabbing my hand and lacing his fingers through mine.

I grinned when I heard a gagging noise coming from Christian, "Rose, where's Lissa?"

I searched the bond quickly, figuring out Lissa's location, "She's by the buses," I said to Christian, shooing him as he ran off to find her.

Mason squeezed my hand, grinning at me, "You ready to go back to the Academy?"

I smiled back at him, walking with him to the buses, "Yes, I am. This way I can kick your butt when we're sparring in class."

He looked surprised, we hadn't flirted like this in a while, "I think I'm definitely going to kick your butt."

I smirked, loving relieving the past. I ran past him into the bus, moving to go sit behind Eddie and Mia.

"Hey Rose. How was your counseling session?" Eddie asked, turning around to face me.

"Uneventful. We didn't really talk about anything except telling her what happeneed," I shrugged, looking up at Mason when he approached my seat.

He looked at me, expecting me to scoot over for him, and when I didn't, he said, "Are you going to move or are you going to make me climb over you?"

I smirked, "You can climb over me if you want to; I'm staying here."

He looked at me with a look that said, _You've got to be kidding me._

When he realized that I really wasn't going to move, he shook his head and climbed over me. He climbed with much difficulty, as he didn't want to fall on me.

"I can't believe you made me do that. You really are something else," he said light-heartedly.

I grinned at him, "I know, but that's why you love me."

He shook his head, "No, I think I love this more," he said, gesturing to my body.

I grinned seductively at him, and kissed him.

I felt him kiss me back, pulling me closer to him with one arm. I wrapped my arms around his neck and started tugging at his hair.

"Rose, where's Lissa?" Eddie asked, breaking me out of my trance.

I pulled away from Mason and looked up at Eddie, "What do you mean?"

"She's not here," he responded, looking around the bus to see if he missed her.

I went pale, feeling awful that I didn't pick up on this sooner. I quickly searched the bond again, discovering that she and Christian were in a car with one of the guardians from school.

I breathed out a sigh of relief, "She's in a car with a guardian," I said to Eddie, calming him down as well.

He nodded, and I assessed the situation. Lissa had a huge cast on her leg and a bandage wrapped around her head. She was all bruised up, but overall, she looked okay.

I looked back at Mason, and saw that he was staring at me with an amused smile on his face.

"What?" I asked, a smile turning up my lips.

He just shrugged, "You," he said, pulling me close again.

I smiled and nuzzled into his chest, falling asleep in his warmth.

{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}

I felt someone shaking my shoulders, "No, I'm not ready yet," I mumbled, still stuck in my dream.

I heard a laugh, and opened my eyes to see Mason and Eddie grinning at me.

"Hey, lil' sis', you awake?" Eddie asked, nudging me with his finger.

I smiled a sleepy smile, "Are we there?"

"Yes, we are," Mason answered, smiling at me. He stood there, waiting for me to stand up and follow him out.

"Carry me," I said, reaching out my to him with my arms.

He chuckled and scooped me up.

"Woah there, I wasn't serious," I said, taken by surprise.

"That's okay, I'm gonna carry you anyway," he said, walking out of the bus and waiting behind some people to collect our bags.

He put me down when he found his, and handed me mine. I grabbed his hand with my free hand and pulled my luggage along with my other hand.

It was considered late at night in Moroi time, even though the Sun was finally rising. Mason walked me to my room, and I felt like I was finally back at home.

I opened my door and walked inside, letting Mason follow me in. I set down my bag and turned to face him.

"Goodnight," he said, tilting my chin up and kissing me.

When we pulled away, I murmured, "Goodnight."

Mason looked hesitant, but after a few moments he turned around and left, closing my door behind him.

I searched the bond once more, checking to make sure Lissa got to her room safely. It was almost as if she felt my presence in her head because she sent me a message through the bond.

_Goodnight, Rose. I hope you made it to your room okay._ I grimaced, wishing that the bond was a two way thing.

I climbed into my bed, exhausted from my extremely long day. Today had started with the _molnija_ ceremony; then scared me into temporary depression when Lissa was thrown against the bus seat.

From there, I said my goodbyes to Dimitri and parted ways with him forever. After that, I had to endure a therapy session, until I was finally sent back home, which brings me to where I am now.

I sighed, trying to push the days events out of my head as I closed my eyes and drifted into a heavy sleep.

My dream fazed into a familiar scene. It wasn't unexpected, I had known that I would close my eyes to something like this.

I was back in Adrian's room at the lodge, familiar with the alcohol and cologne bottles all over the room. I looked down at myself and found that I was wearing a tight red dress, and my hair was in a messy ponytail.

I rolled my eyes, _Typical Adrian,_ I thought, knowing that I was in his dream.

As if on cue, he appeared before me dressed in a handsome black suit, his hair perfectly gelled to give it that messy look that he always spends hours on.

"I knew I would close my eyes to see you," I muttered, feeling exposed as his eyes sized me up.

"Ah, so you did pick up on that little hint that I gave you. The one that your boyfriend jumped on me about," he was smirking, looking amused at Mason's immaturity.

"Yes, I did catch that," I replied with, wondering why he chose for the dream to be here, "Is there any reason that we are in your room at the lodge?"

He walked towards me, gesturing for me to sit down on his bed. I sat, and watched as he sat beside me, feeling uncomfortable by our close proximity.

"I have something that I would like to tell you, little dhampir," he said, casually throwing his arm around my shoulders.

I decided to just ignore it, knowing that it was just a dream, "What is it?" I asked cautiously.

"I'm back at your school with you. Here. At the Academy," he stressed, reacting to the surprised look on my face.

I hesistated before asking him, "But, why? You aren't here to stalk me, are you?"

He chuckled, staring into my eyes and making me feel uncomfortable again, "Of course not. Although that is a bonus. But no, I'm here to keep working with Lissa on Spirit."

"And the school is letting you stay here?" I asked skeptically, wondering how he managed to convince them.

"Yes they are. They think it will be a good 'learning opportunity'," he smirked, putting air quotes around "learning opportunity."

"And where are you staying?" I asked, still partially thinking that he used compulsion.

The scene shifted to one of the guest rooms, "Right here," he said, gesturing around to his room.

"Adrian, not to be rude or anything, but can I go to sleep, I'm exhausted," I sighed, standing up and stepping away from him.

He chuckled, "Silly Rose, you _are_ asleep, this is only a dream," he grinned, showing off his pearly whites.

I rolled my eyes at him, "I want to be in a dreamless sleep, so that I can relax my mind," I said to him, starting to get annoyed by his cocky attitude.

He raised his hands in surrender, "As you wish. Goodnight, little dhampir," he said, kissing my cheek and waving goodbye to me.

The dream disappeared, and I fell into an uninterrupted sleep for the rest of the night.

**

* * *

And now I'm stopping. I wasn't too happy about the amount of review I got, but I got this chapter out much sooner, so I expect to get more this time.**

**Thanks to all my faithful readers!**


	10. Thank You

**So for some reason, I've had the majority of this chapter sitting on my computer in my fanfiction folder. I just found it now as I was working on my new chapter for my Glee story, and decided that you guys really deserved a chapter considering how amazing you all are. So, I finished it up and here you go.**

Buzzz! Buzzzz! Buzzzz!

"No!" I mumbled, rolling over and burying my face in my pillow.

Buzzz! Buzzzz! Buzzz!

I groaned, not wanting to wake up to check my phone. I reached out blindly and opened it, saying, "What?"

"I had a feeling you weren't awake," Lissa teased, giggling nervously.

I rolled my eyes, but sat up anyway, "Well I am now," I sighed.

"I know," she said happily. I groaned and hung up the phone.

{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}

An hour later, I was ready to go back to my first class. I wasn't too happy about it, but I was ready. I was wearing a black and white striped tank top, black soffe short shorts and red low top converse.

I looked in the mirror quickly before I left, fixing my hair to make it look somewhat messy.

I grinned at myself in the mirror, wondering how I had gotten so lucky with my body, and strode out the door strutting my stuff.

I heard a wolf whistle come from behind me, and I turned around to see a grinning Mason coming towards me.

"Hey," he said, kissing my cheek and taking my hand. He was looking super cute in a navy blue t-shirt and black basketball shorts.

I smiled at him, "You ready for class?"

He smirked, "I'm ready to knock you to the ground, if that's what you mean."

I let go of his hand and lightly punched his arm. He held his arm like it had really hurt.

I rolled my eyes at him and he smirked at me. He wrapped his arm around my waist and pulled me closer, kissing me before letting go and grabbing my hand again.

I gave him a look, causing him to grin and innocently ask, "What?"

I just shook my head and pushed the door open to the gym. We had our physical training class first. I looked forward to it everyday. When I got back from running away with Lissa, I had fallen behind, but now that I was training with Dimitri I had pulled ahead and now could beat all of my classmates.

"Hey Rose, Mason," Eddie greeted us as we took a seat on the bleachers. I quickly put my hair up into a ponytail that showed my battle mark.

After Mason and I greeted him, Mason said, "So who do you think is going to pin the other one, me or Rose?"

"I think Rose totally has you beat there, man," Eddie grinned at me, high-fiving me above Mason's head.

"Dude! What happened to 'bros before hoes'?" Mason shoved Eddie playfully.

Eddie laughed, "But that doesn't apply here because Rose isn't a whore."

"Thank you Eddie," I said giving Mason a look.

"Hm, I'm not sure I can agree with that," Mason murmured jokingly.

My jaw dropped in surprise, but I quickly closed it before Mason said something.

"Relax I'm just kidding," he grinned at me, trying to wrap his arm around my waist. I gently pushed it away.

"You're such an ass," I smiled at him, knowing he wouldn't take it to heart.

"What was that?" he cupped his ear, pretending like he didn't hear me.

I rolled my eyes and lightly punched his arm, "I said: You're such an ass!"

"Ohhhh! So you think I have a nice ass?" he smirked at me, putting his face a few inches away from mine.

I rolled my eyes again, closing the distance between us to peck him on the lips. He grinned and laced his fingers through mine.

"Settle down, everyone!" the man walking into the door called out. After a few more whispers, the room was silent.

"Good. Your normal teacher for this class was assigned to a family of Moroi who lost one of their guardians in the fight at the ski lodge. I am Guardian Belgrave, and I will be teaching this class for the rest of the year," he paused, letting us take in what he was telling us.

Guardian Belgrave was tall and muscular, probably in his mid-twenties with dark brown short hair. He had bright blue eyes that stood out on his tanned skin. I looked around the room and noticed that some of the girls were already drooling over him.

_Been__there,__done__that._ I thought with a sigh, pushing Dimitri out of my head before he could occupy my whole mind.

After a brief introduction, Guardian Belgrave showed us some basic fighting moves and blocks. I didn't pay too much attention, as Dimitri had already taught me more advanced versions of these moves.

"Okay. Now that I have demonstrated some basic combat moves, I would like you to pair up and spar with one another on one of the mats in the gym," he gestured to the blue mats around the gym and walked away to let us get started.

Before I could even process what we were doing, Mason yanked me off the bleachers and tugged me along to one of the mats on the outsides of the gym, near the walls.

"What don't want to be the center of attention?" I smirked at him once he let go of my hand and stood opposite me on the mat.

He just shrugged, "I thought it would less embarrassing for you to lose when no one was watching," he grinned at me.

I snorted, "Oh please," I muttered, then dove for his legs.

It caught him by surprise and he went down with an, "Oof!"

I straddled him, pinning his arms down, "That was too easy," I grinned.

He growled and flipped me over. I easily got out of his grasp and stood to face him again, this time giving him a fair shot.

I threw a punch at his shoulder, but he dodged it just before it made contact. He returned my punch, but aimed it for my gut instead, which I quickly stepped back from.

I could have kicked him in the head with no problem, but I didn't want to embarrass him again. So I just punched him in the stomach instead.

Suddenly, I was overcome by a feeling that someone was watching us.

"Ugh," he groaned, holding his stomach and sucking in a quick breath. I kicked his legs out from under him, but he got up easily, glaring at me and delivering a quick hit to my jaw.

I winced, but refused to fall down and give up, so instead I feigned a punch to his nose and kicked him square in the chest instead.

He went flying backwards and landed with a loud thud on the mat. He clutched his chest, moaning in pain as he rolled around on the floor.

"Nice work, Hathaway," Guardian Belgrave nodded at me, a small smile residing on his face.

I grinned at him, then turned to Mason to make sure he was okay. I extended an arm to him, tensing myself just in case he tried to pull me down.

He grabbed my hand and yanked, but I was ready, and just stumbled forward a little before catching myself.

"You sure have gotten good," Mason said once he had stood up. We were walking to the water fountains and catching our breath before we had to continue sparring.

"Thanks, Mase," I smiled at him, swooping down to drink some water from the fountain.

"You got a little," Mason started pointing to my face. I realized that I had some water on my lips, and went to wipe it off when he grabbed my hand to stop me.

He leaned forward and slowly licked the water off my lips. I shivered and grinned at him.

"Mm, tasty," he smiled seductively at me, licking his lips.

{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}

After that class, the rest of my morning just dragged on, and I faded in and out of focus as my teachers attempted to get the class under control.

It was the same every class: we would all hurry to our seats, and then start talking a little too loudly. Then, the teacher of the class would yell at us to shut up and we would be quiet for half a minute before starting back up again.

Finally, lunch had arrived and I got to see my Moroi friends again.

"Hey, I'll be right back, I'm gonna go use the restroom," Mason said to me, snapping me out of my trance.

I nodded at him and walked over to sit where my friends and I normally sit. As soon as I sat down, someone covered my eyes with their hands.

My first instinct was to jab whoever it was with my elbow, but I had a feeling it was one of my friends.

I turned around and moved his hands from my eyes, revealing a grinning Adrian.

"Hey Little Dhampir," he said, sitting down next to me. "Where's your boyfriend?" he asked, looking around to find Mason.

"In the bathroom," I answered, watching some novices play with firecrackers across the room.

I felt an arm around me, and without looking, threw it off of me, "Adrian," I warned, turning to look at him.

"Yes?" he asked innocently, sliding closer to me.

I lightly pushed him away, "Just because you're allowed to be here, doesn't give you the right to flirt with and stalk me. I do have a boyfriend who could beat you up with one hand tied behind his back."

He feigned hurt, placing his hand over his heart, "You wouldn't let him hurt my pretty face. You would miss it too much," he smirked, running a hand through his perfectly gelled hair.

"Hey guys!" Lissa said happily, sitting down across from me. Christian nodded at me and sat down next to her.

"Hey Liss. I'll be right back. I'm gonna go find Mason," I said, standing up and walking towards the bathrooms to find him.

I stopped in my tracks as soon as I saw him. He was being pushed up against the wall by a Moroi girl, one who was kissing him.

I felt tears well up in my eyes, but blinked them back quickly.

"Mason!" I yelled angrily, storming up to him and literally yanking the girl off of him.

"Oh my God. Rose, it isn't what it looks like," he stuttered, backing away from me with a horrified look on his face.

"You bitch!" the girl who I pushed down yelled, slapping me across the face.

"You're the one who's making out with _my_ boyfriend!" I yelled back, staring up at her menacingly.

She tried to slap me again, but this time I was ready and easily stepped aside to dodge it, and punched her in the nose.

She immediately started crying, holding her bleeding nose. She ran away, looking for someone to help her.

I turned towards Mason, "Now where were we," I said in a low tone, walking swiftly towards him.

"Rose, please don't hurt me!" Mason said quickly, looking around frantically for a way out.

"Would you kindly explain to me why you were kissing that girl?" I asked in a calm tone, knowing I was about to crack at any second.

"_She_ came onto _me_!" he said, defending himself. By this point, I had him backed into a corner away from everyone else.

"It didn't look like you were trying to push her off. It looked like you were enjoying yourself," I growled, anger bubbling inside of me.

"I _did_ try to push her off and I _wasn't_ enjoying it," he said, his brow furrowing in anger, "Rose, I love you," he said softly, gazing into my eyes.

I glared at him for several seconds before saying, "This hurts, Mase."

"Now you know how I felt when I saw you with Dimitri," he said softly, reaching out to me with his hand.

That stung. A lot. I backed away from him, a hurt look on my face, and ran away.

I sprinted as fast as I could, running away from my classmates. I was surprised to find myself in the middle of the forest behind the school.

I finally stopped running when I couldn't see the school and grabbed a nearby tree to stop myself from falling.

I sat down against the tree, panting heavily, and let my head fall into my palms.

I could sense Lissa trying to find out where I was through the bond, but I ignored her, pushing all of her worry out of my head.

I started trembling, a mix of emotions running through my head. I felt anger, sadness, and a pang of something else that I couldn't figure out what it was.

I extended my legs and accidentally cut my leg on a sharp rock that I didn't know about.

"Ahh!" I groaned, feeling pain course through my bloody leg.

That gave me an idea. "If it works for Lissa, it'll work for me too," I thought, looking down at the sharp rock under me.

I hesitantly reached for the rock, picking it up and running my thumb over the sharp point, imagining how much pain it would cause.

I slid the rock across my wrist, wincing in pain as it cut me. I cut deeper and deeper, feeling better with each cut.

I barely noticed the blood gushing out of my opened wrist, but started to feel a little light-headed.

I paused with my cutting, looking down at the mess on my left hand. "What have I done?"I thought to myself, noticing the excruciating pain for the first time.

I whimpered in pain, holding my wrist tightly right before I blacked out.

**Adrian POV**

"Hey Liss. I'll be right back. I'm gonna go find Mason," Rose murmured, standing up and walking away from the table.

I slumped down in my seat and sighed, "She's never gonna like me," I muttered.

Lissa patted my hand, "She'll come around to you eventually. You just have to give her time," she reassured me.

"I don't know why you care so much. She's not even that great," Christian said nonchalantly.

My head shot up and Lissa whacked him, "Christian! That's my best friend you're talking about!" He just shrugged, which earned him one of Lissa's death glares.

"She's not that great? Do you have eyes? Dude, she's gorgeous," I paused, thinking about Rose. "And she's fearless. How many girls do you know of that can run right into a group of hungry Strigoi and come out alive?"

He shrugged again, "Whatever, she's a bitch."

This time I was the one to smack him. I hit him over the head, knocking him to the ground.

"Christian!" Lissa scolded again, a flabbergasted look on her face. "You need to watch what you say!"

"Sorry," he muttered to her, glaring at me when she was turned the other way.

"Hey," Eddie said as he sat down with a tray full of food. "What happened to Rose and Mason? I just saw them a minute ago," he asked, looking around to see if he was overlooking them.

"Rose just left to go find out where Mason went. He said he was going to the bathroom, but he never came back," Lissa answered, looking a little worried.

"I'm gonna go look for Rose. Something might have happened to her," I said, my brow furrowing in concentration as I tried to think about how long it's been since she left.

"God damn it!" I saw Mason repeating over and over again as he continuously hit his head into a wall.

"What the hell man? Where's Rose?" I asked anxiously, grabbing the cotton of his shirt and pulling him away from the wall.

His eyes shined with tears, a helpless look on his face, "I don't know. She saw me kissing another girl, hit her, and then ran away. I have no idea where she went."

I growled at him, throwing the useless dhampir aside as I raced past him to the forest. "Rose!" I began calling out, running the fastest I had ever ran before. I weaved through the trees, desperately scouring the area for the most beautiful girl I knew.

I peered into the distance, seeing a lump of a person on the ground. I sprinted off into its direction, stopping short when I saw that is was in fact Rose.

Horror struck the pit of my stomach as I saw the blood oozing from her wrist and spreading onto the ground. The rock she had used was still in her hand. I quickly snatched it and chucked it deep into the forest, not wanting anyone to ever find it.

I rushed to her side, pulling her into my lap violently. I summoned up all of my healing powers and forced them into her wrist, feeling the sensations that spirit gave me.

Her wrist slowly healed, so I sucked in my breath and forced every last bit of myself into Rose, watching intently as the blood disappeared and the cut healed, merely leaving a scar in its place.

Rose's eyes flickered open, and a lazy smile spread across her face.

**Rose POV**

I smiled dreamily up at the worried green eyes above me, feeling like I was floating in mid-air. Something was wrong here. I couldn't pin point it at first, but then it hit me.

"Rose!" Adrian called to me, shaking me gently but urgently, "Are you okay? Please answer me. I've called you at least 15 times!"

"Adrian?" I murmured, opening my eyes fully as the situation hit me. I cut. I passed out. I didn't think anyone would find me.

"Yes, Little Dhampir, I'm right here. Every thing's gonna be alright," he rocked me slowly, leaning down to kiss my forehead gently. I could see the exhaustion on his face, and glanced down to my wrist, which was miraculously healed.

"You didn't have to heal me, you know," I said softly, surprising him. He shook his head, this time leaning down to kiss me on the lips.

Normally, I would pull away, but considering that Mason cheated on me and Adrian just saved my life, literally, I let it go. I kissed him back carefully, not wanting him to get the wrong idea.

"Thank you," he whispered, staring into my eyes dreamily, a smile atop his face.

"For what?" I asked, shocked. I should be thanking him. Not the other way around.

He just smiled at me again, showing his fangs and everything. I closed my eyes to fully enjoy our moment, and drifted into sleep, right in his arms.

**Not sure if I like this or not. Like I said before, most of this was written, but it was written so long ago that I don't remember where I was going with it. I think this was the ending I was heading towards. I got a little tired of Mason and wanted to try out Adrian, so let me know what you guys think, please.**


End file.
